


Quixotic

by princessgrouch



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Monsters, University
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-06
Updated: 2016-11-26
Packaged: 2018-06-06 19:52:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 21,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6767611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessgrouch/pseuds/princessgrouch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Merlin arrives at Albion U., Arthur arbitrarily decides to make him his best mate.  ***There will be monsters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Game

Nervous.

University nervous.

On-his-own-for-the-first-time nervous.

Merlin didn't know if he had the right papers, didn't know if he'd have enough money for books, didn't know ANYone who was going to Albion U.

Not going to back out, not going to let it show.

Nervous.

*****

Wads of paper were balled up and being pitched at each other by the small crowd in administration who were "helping" new arrivals. Camelot was their hometown, and Arthur Pendragon _et al_ took the liberty of playing hosts.

"Next one in the door is my new girlfriend," vowed Gwaine, crumpling up another flyer and sending it hurtling towards Elyan who was armed with a yardstick. Elyan swung at it, nearly decapitated Gwen, and sent the paperball bouncing off Leon's head and behind the filing cabinet.  Alice White, the registrar, shook her head in exasperation.

"You kids will have to clean all that up, you know," she told them with mock-severity. They grinned at her; she had known most of them all their lives.

"We will, sorry Alice," answered Gwen sweetly. She smacked her brother with the back of her hand.

"Someone's coming," warned Morgana suddenly from the corner of the desk where she was perched. They all turned in unison. Then they all groaned in unison, as a very tall and definitely male freshman walked in.

"All yours, Gwaine," teased Arthur. Everyone laughed, and the new student wrinkled his forehead in confusion. He walked up to the desk and handed over his registration papers.

"Percival Grant?" Alice looked up at the young man. "Welcome to Albion!" She handed him his Welcome Packet, his meal card, and a key to his room in West Block, building K. "Your orientation tour is scheduled for 4 pm today in the Quad. It's on the map." Alice smiled at him, and as Percival turned to leave, Gwaine jumped out in front of him.

"Hello! I am Gwaine Greene, your personal tour guide," Gwaine said with a charming grin and a toss of his long hair. Percival looked startled, taken aback.

"O-kayyyy," he said hesitantly. "Sure, I guess." Gwaine slung a hand up over Percival's shoulder and led him out of the room. The others could hear him jabbering on about football and pizza and whatnot. They jostled each other in amusement; Gwaine was really milking it for all it was worth. He'd probably date Percival just because it was all part of the game.

"My turn," Morgana said. "Next three people through the door are buying the beer tonight." Everyone looked up at that, close watch on the door. Presently two girls walked in, a blonde and a brunette.

"Here, Mith, I told you I could find it," began the blonde girl loudly. The other girl looked around at all the predatory smiles and gave a little wave.

"Um, hi?" she said. "I'm Mithian, and this is Elena. We're supposed to register?" Elyan jumped up from the chair he'd collapsed in earlier, and took a deep bow.

"Welcome, ladies," he said solemnly. "It is indeed a great pleasure. Your coming has been awaited and your arrival has brought much joy." The two girls looked puzzled, but soon were laughing and learning the others' names. Morgana confessed to them the assignment they had inadvertently been awarded. The girls got signed in eventually, whilst everyone stared at the door, waiting for the third beer-buying candidate. Arthur went to lean out and look down the hall.

"Someone's coming," he said, ducking back in. "Two or three, actually. Whoever enters first is the final victim, um, I mean benevolent provider of drinks." He grinned over at Elena, who just rolled her eyes, and Mithian, who stuck her tongue out at him. The two girls joined the rest in holding their breaths as a few new people came in.

"Aha!" yelled Elena, leaping forward in the spirit of things to take hold of the first person's arm. He was startled, to say the least, and gave a tentative smile.

"Perhaps you were expecting someone else?" he inquired politely. The other two lads who had come in looked askance at them, and moved forward to register.

"No, darling, you're perfect!" purred Morgana. Her boyfriend Leon frowned. Morgana hadn't meant to make Leon jealous, so she added, "I mean, for joining Elena and Mithian here in buying the first round tonight." She smiled apologetically at Leon.

"I see. I think," said the newest to join their gang. "My name's Lance. Pleased to make your acquaintances." They did the introductions again, and eventually allowed him to get his paperwork dealt with.

It was Arthur's turn next. He narrowed his eyes at Leon, and decided what he was going to do for his turn.

"In light of the fact that my best friend is now dating my sister," he said, with an air of disgust, "the next one through the door will be my new best friend!" He smirked at Leon.

And that is when a tall, skinny, dark-haired boy walked in.

Everyone within reach of Arthur slapped him on the back, arms or shoulders. They all stared curiously at the newcomer. The new boy took in their looks and paled, making his way past them to the desk. Arthur leapt after him, flung an arm over the new boy's shoulders, and grinned broadly.

"So good to see you, glad you made it," Arthur said with gusto. The new boy flinched, and shrunk down and out from under Arthur's exuberant grasp. "Whoa, whoa, it's okay," continued Arthur. "We're FRIENDS."


	2. The Snare

 

“Do I know you?” the boy asked in an attempt at being aloof, but merely sounding terrified.

“I’m Arthur.  Arthur Pendragon,” Arthur rolled out richly, confidently.  A little tittering came from the girls behind them, and shushing noises from Leon, Elyan, and Lance.

“Oh,” said the new boy, obviously at a loss.  He paused for an awkward moment, then turned toward Alice.  “My name is Merlin Emrys.  I’m here to sign in?”  Alice looked down over her checklist and located his name, ticking it off.

“Ah, yes, you were to be in North Block M, but they’ve had electrical issues, so you will be temporarily housed in the East gymnasium, which has been set up as a dormitory.  Also, please note your orientation is this afternoon at 4:00 in the Quadrangle.  You’ll see the locations on the school map.”  She handed him his packet with the school information and his class schedule.  “Will there be anything else?” said Alice.

“Um, my meals are included?” Merlin queried, a tremor in his voice.  Alice looked over her sheet carefully.

“I have no record of a meal card listed for you.  Do you have a receipt?  We would have issued a receipt if you had purchased a meal card,” Alice said patiently.

“No, I didn’t have that,” said Merlin nervously.  “I thought it would be included...?” he repeated.

“Perhaps he can buy one now?” said Arthur, concerned for his new ‘best friend’.

“Yes, that will be fine,” said Alice, looking up at Merlin expectantly.  Merlin’s eyes were wide as he glanced over at Arthur, then back at Alice, blinking slowly.

“I only have a little money for buying my books,” he said, voice quavering.  Arthur dared to sling his arm back around Merlin’s shoulders.

“Not a problem, I’ll pay for the meal card, and you can pay me back later, right _MER_ -lin?”  Arthur nodded at Alice, and she made a note on her sheet next to Arthur’s information, and handed the bewildered Merlin a laminated meal card.

“What? Oh, just, I don’t know if...” he stammered.

“C’mon, Merls, let’s go get you unpacked.  Oh, wait,” Arthur scrunched his nose and spoke to Alice again.  “Did you say ‘dormitory’?”  Alice nodded.  “You can’t sleep in a dormitory, _Mer_ lin.  In the GYM?  No privacy, no security, blech.  You’ll have to stay with me.  My father rented a flat for me just across from the Uni.  We’ll be fine.”  Arthur glared at the rest of his friends, daring them to say one word, and guided Merlin gently but inexorably out the door.

“Whew,” said Morgana, letting out a breath.  “That was the oddest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“He was so PRECIOUS,” squealed Elena.

“Which one?” asked Gwen.

“Oooh, I don’t know, BOTH,” answered Elena.

“Do you really think Arthur will make him, uh, Merlin, his flatmate?” asked Leon.

“Yep.  You are so over and done with, Leon.  Replaced, just like that.”  Elyan snapped his fingers.  “Well, ladies,“ he said to Elena and Mithian, “let’s get you to your new domicile.”  Offering each girl an elbow, Elyan escorted them from the room.  Gwen raised her eyebrows at Lance, whose smile lit up his face as he gestured for her to precede him out the door.  Leon and Morgana surveyed one another, shrugged, and waltzed out too, arm in arm.

*****

“I can’t really pay you back, you know,” said Merlin earnestly to Arthur as he stumbled along with him to the front foyer where his luggage awaited.  He turned in his bag-check stub and took hold of a small suitcase and one stuffed backpack.  “I mean, maybe I can get a job in the STU or the library, I suppose...”

“Naw, I think all those jobs were snatched up by sophomores, or students who live here.  Leon’s working in the coffee shop, and Gwen and Morgana have shifts at the library, but they applied last spring before the Uni closed for summer break.  You’ll be fine,” Arthur nodded.  “You can do my laundry.  Clean up the flat.  Edit my essays.  ‘Sall good.  Is this all you’ve brought?” Arthur asked, pulling the suitcase from Merlin to carry himself.

Merlin flushed, and nodded.  He still wasn’t sure what was happening, everything was so twilight-zone weird.  He expected any moment for the rug to be pulled out from under him, and it all turn out to be a nasty horrid joke.

"That lady at the desk, do you know her?" Merlin asked suddenly.

"Hmm?  Yes, that was Alice White.  Why?"

"There was fur on her sleeves," Merlin said oddly.

"I guess.  She does have a cat.  She's married to Gaius, a friend of my father's.  You'll probably meet him, too, he's a professor here," Arthur told him, his lower lip pushed out as he tried to fathom why Merlin would be concerned about fur on Alice's sweater.

"It didn't look like _cat_ fur," Merlin replied.  "I think something bad might be happening."  Arthur shot him a concerned look.

"Are you feeling okay?  Maybe you should lie down for a bit when we get to my... _our_ flat, calm your nerves."

"No, no, I'm fine," Merlin said quickly.  "Let's just go."

All he could think was he was supposed to phone his mother when he got settled in his room.  She knew how nervous he was, and she was surely awaiting his call.  Right now he was worried he wouldn’t be able to talk.  He was certain he was going to cry.  All these nerves.  And this cruel prank.  University was a disaster.  And now he was _seeing_ things again, things that weren't real.

Arthur racked his brain as the two of them crossed the campus; what did you say to commence a friendship?  With someone who seemed slightly - um - _different_.  But interesting.  Get to know one another?  Giving a small frown as he glanced at Merlin, he thought the other boy didn’t look like he would open up easily.  So Arthur launched on his favorite topic:  himself.

“I’m Arthur, as you know, heh, and my father owns one of the largest industrial firms in the country.  You’ve heard of Pendragon Corp?  That’s us.  We are VERY wealthy, and I am set to take over the company one day.  I have to do well in school.  My grades come first, for my father _and_ for me, so no late parties!  Well, maybe some.  But I will be studying hard, and I will succeed.  I am just that good.  I’ve always excelled at sports, too, and I expect I’ll be football captain by second year.  And Leon, Elyan, and Gwaine play too.  Probably the new guy, and oh the other one that went off with Gwaine.  You didn’t meet him did you?  Well, we’ll all be playing for the Albion Knights.  Do you play football?”  Arthur paused his speech for a moment as they crossed the street.  It was Merlin, however, who looked like he was out of breath.

“Um, no?” he ventured, as if he suspected that would be a deal-breaker.  Arthur plowed on regardless.

“I have a personal trainer I see three times a week.  I'm lactose intolerant.  And I’ve lived in Camelot all my life.  This is my home turf, and everyone loves me!”  He gestured grandly at the building before them.  “This is home.  Away from home.  We’re up there, third floor, second window on the left.”  Merlin stretched his neck to look up at the newer brick building, zeroing in on the appropriate window.

“I can run fast,” Merlin contributed, slightly out of sync with the conversation.  But trying.  Arthur pushed open the outer door, then unlocked the inner door and held it for Merlin to pass through.

“Really?  Betcha I run faster.  Nobody can catch me.  Well, Gwaine.  But nobody else.   Here, elevator over there, stairs here.  Stairs are faster,” Arthur said, turning to bound up the stairs two at a time.  Merlin plodded sedately after him.  He never said anything about running up stairs.  Arthur turned to wait for him once he got to the top, proud of himself for not getting impatient with Merlin.

When they got to Arthur’s rooms and stepped inside, Merlin looked about uncertainly.  Wow.  He didn’t believe he would really live here.  The entry opened into a living area with deep reds in the sofa and drapes, brass lamps and picture frames filling out the rich ensemble.  A large TV screen practically took up all of one end, and there seemed to be numerous game consoles and some unidentifiable equipment flanking the entertainment center.  At the far end of the living area there was a kitchenette with a half-sized fridge and narrow stove. A wooden circular table and two chairs completed the dining area.

Merlin looked to his left, and saw a rather large washroom, quite spacious.  Turning to the right, he could see into the bedroom, done up in blues and greens and looking very relaxing. Arthur had taken Merlin's case into the bedroom, so he kicked off his shoes and followed.  They stood silently in the bedroom for a few moments, Merlin gazing around and taking everything in.

“Where do I sleep?” he said.  There was one bed.  Queen sized.  Only one.

“Oh, well,” began Arthur.  The logistics hadn't occurred to him regarding his 'best friend' moving in.  He shrugged.  “I suppose we could share.  There’s enough room.”  Merlin stared at him and then at the bed.

“I’m, um, not gay,” he said apologetically.  Arthur regarded him for a few intense moments.

“Oh.  Yeah, neither am I.  So it should be fine, right?  You stay on your side, I'll stay on mine. Now then...”  Arthur hefted the suitcase onto the bed, opened it without so much as a by-your-leave, and dumped everything out.  A second later Merlin tipped out the contents of his pack beside it.  Soon the two of them had Merlin’s few belongings distributed throughout the room, Arthur shoving things into drawers and cupboards willy-nilly.  Merlin’s head was whirling, afraid he’d never find anything again.  He wandered over to stand for a bit in front of the desk across from the bed.

“Will I maybe be able to borrow the computer sometimes?” he asked, a little bolder now that things were progressing without incident.

“Of course, anytime you need.”  Arthur came to stand next to him, having shoved the empty suitcase to the back of the closet.  “I have a laptop too, so it’s no bother.  C’mon,” he said.  “Let’s get something to eat.  You hungry?”  He elbowed Merlin playfully and headed out to the kitchen.

“Uh, sure, but I really need to...” Merlin paused.  Arthur raised his eyebrows enquiringly.

“What?  Oh, the bathroom’s over there,” Arthur offered helpfully.  Merlin turned to look, then shook his head quickly.

“No, not that.  I have to find a payphone to call my mom, actually.”  Merlin shrugged weakly.

“You don’t have a phone?” Arthur stared, his tone suggesting disbelief and ridicule.  He recovered immediately and began over again.  “Oh, hey, no problem.  Plenty of people don’t have phones.”  He winced, because that sounded so obnoxiously fake even to his own ears.  “You can use mine.  Actually, I think my father’s phone plan covers up to five phones, so we can get you one too, how’s that sound?”  Arthur fumbled out his phone and handed it over.  “Here, I’ll just go and, uh, be in the kitchen.”

“Oh, gee, um, thanks?” Merln stuttered.  He dialed his mother’s number, going over to sit on the edge of the bed.  “Hi, Mom?”

He listed out the news for his mother, editing the details and trying above all to speak confidently and positively about his experiences so far.  He was just checking in, to let her know he had arrived and was still alive.

“I have my meal card.  I got the full one, all meals included, not just the dinners like we thought.  Also, my orientation is at 4:00.  My room's good. I'm all unpacked, and there’s a computer here I can use.  My roommate's nice and friendly.  We’re going to get something to eat now, so I’ve got to go.  Oh, and I’ll have the use of a phone.   And I’ve got a job, sort of, just some cleaning and laundry, but it’s good, eh?"  He spoke quickly, hoping to avoid answering any questions.  Merlin listened as his mother admonished him to be careful, have fun, and call her tomorrow.  He hung up, and headed out bravely to join his ‘friend’.


	3. The Tour

The orientation tour was a real eye-opener for Merlin. Arthur was with him, thank goodness, having insisted upon it to Morgause, the fierce blonde with dark eye shadow who was dividing up the freshmen into three separate groups. Arthur pointed out a very tall young man in one of the other groups.

“That’s Gwaine’s new _girlfriend_ ,” he said seriously. “Gwaine’s a sophomore, and so is Leon; you’ll meet them later tonight. For drinks.” Arthur grinned at another youth, Lance, who happened to also be in their group. Merlin ignored Lance in favor of staring at the rather large muscular student labeled ‘Gwaine’s girlfriend’, definitely a GUY, and then stared at Arthur.

“That’s a HE, and HE looks like a GIANT,” Merlin whispered, alarmed.

“Hmm, you may be right,” Arthur smirked. Arthur was concerned for his friend, but he guessed it was just standard nervousness. He nodded as pleasantly as he could, and set about introducing Merlin to Lance, who began to chat easily with the two. Presently they were being quick-marched across the campus for their tour by the formidable Morgause.

First stop, the library. Arthur whispered that his sister Morgana and her best friend Gwen would be working here occasionally. Merlin nodded; he remembered that Arthur had said that earlier. There was a grouchy librarian named Geoffrey Monmouth, who frowned and shushed them. AND Merlin saw a peaked-face gremlin or something leering down from atop the bookshelves at them. It jumped about like crazy and pinched a handful of coins from the donations cup on the check-out desk when no one was looking. Well, no one _else_. Merlin watched him take the fistful of money over to an open filing cabinet, reach way back in and drop the money down behind the back of the drawer. Merlin turned to Arthur, mouth half-way open to speak, but then he snapped it shut again. Arthur wondered what he had been about to say. There was nothing odd to see here. Before he could ask, the tour moved on.

The olympic-sized swimming pool was being guarded by a sultry dark-haired woman in a bright green speedo. The students stood in a line just along the wall, having been warned by Miss Nimueh to stay well back.

“We have a _situation_ here,” she said with an eerie, overly-broad smile. “In particular, there has been some unfortunate contamination of the water. An individual or individuals saw fit to fill the pool with a number of dead fish. Cod, to be precise,” she concluded brilliantly, as if she had just invented that. She nodded towards the deep end. “It will be resolved by Monday,” she said. They craned their necks to see a contraption creeping along the bottom of the pool, a thick rust-coloured hose attaching it to a filter and pump along the far wall. Merlin had a dubious look on his face, and jabbed his elbow unthinkingly into Arthur’s side.

“It’s a creepy water monster,” he whispered. The lifeguard Nimueh shot him a glare. No way she could have heard him, could she?

“Just a pool-cleaner,” Arthur whispered back, with a furtive glance at Nimueh. Merlin looked at him with fearful wide eyes.

“I don’t think so,” he answered, mysteriously. Arthur gave a grimace as they made their way out of the sports complex again. His best friend had quite the imagination. Should make for an interesting semester.

The football coach was waiting by the D. K. Woods Memorial Sports Field. Coach Valiant was big, tough, and very loud.

“Albion Knights are number one. None of you will join my team unless you prove that you are the best. I do not pander to mamas’ boys. I will not go easy on you if you have exams. I don’t care if you get injured or sick. There is no excuse for less than perfection on my team. I will not lose.” He stared holes in each of them, and bared his teeth menacingly. “Don’t even bother trying to impress me.” Arthur smiled complacently, regardless. He didn’t need to impress anyone; he WAS the best.

Merlin pulled at Arthur’s sleeve, and pointed to the team crest centered on the wall of the building behind them. The crest featured some celtic knotwork and three large entwined green snakes. For just a moment, Arthur could swear the snakes were writhing and twisting around the convoluted lines.

“It’s just an optical illusion, Merls, they’re not really moving,” he reassured his twitchy friend. Merlin sighed worriedly, shuddered, then sighed again. Arthur took his arm to pull him along as Morgause continued the tour.

They bypassed Block M, where Merlin should have been housed. Someone had erected a chain-link fence around it, with a latched gate closing off the entrance. A rather large woman all dressed in black stood like a guard inside the fence, on the doorstep. They all peered in at her curiously. She glared, and shook what appeared to be a crutch in their direction.

“Who’s that?” Lance inquired, keeping his voice low.

“That is the housemother, Ms. Cailleach,” explained Morgause. “She’s very dedicated, won’t let anyone near the building until the wiring is repaired. Word is she was nearly killed when a power surge sent a stray current that burnt her leg.” They moved on past, on a course for the student union building. Merlin however was seemingly mesmerized by the building. Or _some_ thing.

“What is it Merlin, what do you see?” Arthur asked, unable to let it rest. Lance approached them, overhearing the question and clearly interested in whatever might be going on with his new friends.

“Ghosts.” Merlin blanched as he said the word. “That building’s full of ghosts.”

“Don’t be silly, you can’t see ghosts in the daytime,” Arthur argued. Lance raised his eyebrows.

“What are we talking about?” Lance asked.

“Merlin has been imagining things,” Arthur told him. “I don’t know if they’re hallucinations, or what. But,” he insisted protectively, ”Merlin IS my best friend, so I take him seriously when he says something strange is going on.” Arthur nodded, satisfied with his stance on Merlin-related matters.

“Some people can sense things, maybe he just has strong intuitions,” Lance suggested, “Like, precognition or something.” Arthur nodded thoughtfully. Merlin gave the both of them an incredulous look. He was astounded that they seemed to be prepared to at least partially believe him. He trotted along with them as they jogged to catch up the group, with one backwards glance at the Cailleach woman.

“The Rising Sun Coffee Shop is to your right,” Morgause was saying. Everyone turned with great interest, but it seemed they were not to stop.

“My _former_ best friend Leon is a barista there,” nudged Arthur, pointing. “Of course, now I have a _new_  best mate.” Merlin pouted slightly, not deigning to respond. He feet were moving of their own accord in the direction of the coffee shop.

“Uh, Merlin,” said Lance, “I don’t think we’re stopping here.” Arthur and Lance traded looks when Merlin didn’t respond. He was focused on something at the side of the shop. Following his gaze, they could see a tall man who was apparently the groundskeeper. He was using a weed eater around the base of three polyurethane horses that decorated the greenspace.

“What is it?” Arthur asked, hand pulling Merlin to a halt by his shoulder. “What do you see now?”

“They’re beautiful,” he told them. “Unicorns!”

“Nope, I think unicorns have, oh I don’t know, HORNS maybe?” joked Arthur. “So...are they _dangerous_ unicorns?” Merlin regarded him then, and huffed.

“I suppose not,” Merlin conceded. “You probably don’t need to kill them. Okay, let’s go.”

They were soon entering the STU, with the others. There was currently an informal meet-and-greet with assorted professors taking place.

“Spread out, talk to the profs, ask questions, knock yourselves out. Tour is OVER.” Morgause waved them off and strutted over to hobnob with some other equally militant-looking staff staked out around a large punch bowl.

“So,” said Arthur, taking over. “That’s Professor Gaius White over there, probably teaching biology and chemistry. You met his wife this morning at registration.” Lance looked with interest; he was studying pre-med. “Over there is Catrina Tregor. She’s professor of horticultural studies, I believe.” He broke off as Merlin gasped and practically cut off Arthur's circulation by gripping his arm.

“She’s a TROLL,” Merlin hissed. Lance looked at the woman in question with amusement, but Arthur looked rather thunderous.

“ _Mer-_ lin, I’ll have you know, she’s marrying my _father_.” He glared furiously at Merlin. "She's going to be my step-mom!"

“Still a troll,” Merlin whispered near inaudibly.

****

The evening passed relatively quietly, considering that the gang met up at the STU after dinner. Elena, Mithian and Lance purchased beer for the lot of them,. Arthur finally had the chance to introduce his new best friend to the others. Merlin smiled shyly, intimidated by Gwaine’s exuberance, charmed by Gwen’s sweet nature, and embarrassed by the other girls all cooing over him. He shrunk back to Arthur’s side, and just watched as they all laughed and teased each other, as the beer loosened their tongues and inhibitions.

As for Percival, he kept far from him, in spite of Arthur having explained that the ‘girlfriend’ thing was in jest. Merlin's fears were mitigated by the fact that Percy actually came across as quiet and polite. He was quick to pull out a chair for Mithian when she went to sit next to him. He helped carry drinks. He smiled and said please and thank you more than anyone. And Gwaine certainly was showing signs of appreciation for the large man, the purportedly not-a-giant. Merlin was just about ready to concede he was at most a _gentle_ giant, and not of the evil fiend variety in any capacity.

Merlin dawdled getting ready for bed that night, tired but still slightly anxious about the next obstacle he had to surmount. After Arthur was under the covers, Merlin slid in on the right hand side, and laid stiffly on his back. Not touching. Unfortunately, also not breathing. Arthur let out an exasperated breath for the umpteenth time that day.

“Best friend here, Merlin,” he said, reaching over to poke Merlin’s side multiple times. Merlin gulped in air as he doubled over to laugh, ticklish. “I think you can relax, all right? We’re sticking together, regardless. You don’t have to be careful around me.” He groped around and found Merlin's hand with his, slotting their fingers together and giving a comforting squeeze.

“Okay,” Merlin said. He forced himself to loosen up a bit, determinedly. “Good night, Arthur.” He closed his eyes and tried taking deep slow breaths to calm down. Although he was fairly sure holding hands in bed at night with your best friend might be somewhat odd. It left butterflies in his stomach, at any rate.

“'Nite, Merls,” said Arthur faintly, already half-asleep. Precisely 2478 sheep later, Merlin drifted off as well.

Waking up at some pre-dawn hour, Arthur found a limpet clinging to him, dark head nestling against his shoulder. It felt nice. He rolled a bit more towards Merlin and snuggled in. Might as well enjoy.

“Mmmmm, Sire,” Merlin murmured.

“What?” Arthur pulled back in surprise.

“Hmm?”

“You called me ‘Sire’. Wait. Do I know you? Are you _the_ Merlin?”

“Huh?  Of course, _dollophead_ ,” Merlin drowsily replied.  Suddenly he sat up, fully awake upon hearing his own words. “What was that?  I can’t remember... I think I was dreaming.  You were...the King?  And I...um.”

“Maybe I was. Were you a warlock?”

“No, I...I couldn’t really be.”

“No. But maybe you used to be.  In another life?  Yeah?  Sounds about right.” Arthur stared at him, thoughts and half-memories whirling around his brain, elusive and tantalizing. Suddenly he tapped Merlin's arm. “Hey!  Can you do magic? Eh? Try it.” He cast about trying to think of something to attempt. “Turn the light on.”

“Oh, like clap-on?” He clapped with mock-enthusiasm, twice.

The lamp came on.

Merlin jumped. Then he pretended to chuckle. “Oh, you really do have a clapper.  Ha ha, fooled me.”

“No I don’t,” Arthur said slowly, mouth hanging open. “You...you have magic. _Do something else!_ ” he said quickly, bouncing up eagerly. “Open the door.”

“But I don’t want to.” Merlin shrank down, pulling the covers up to his chin, hiding and looking frightened.

“ _Mer_ -lin, do it!” he insisted.

“I can’t. I don’t know how.”

“Maybe it’s like the light, you just have to think of how it COULD be done. Um.” He thought. “I know. If I had somehow attached a fishing wire to the doorknob, and you took it and pulled on it...well, you can’t see it, and might think you couldn’t even feel it in your hand, but it would work. Here.” He made as if to hand Merlin something. Merlin took 'it' and, eyebrows knit together in concentration, timidly made a slow careful pulling motion. The door creaked open. Merlin gasped and dropped the ‘string’. The door stopped.

“Ahooo! Yeah!” cheered Arthur, fist pumping. He pounced on Merlin and gave him a hearty kiss on the mouth.

They looked at each other in amazement. No, no, no, THIS was not a thing. Was it? Searching each others eyes and faces, they slowly came to a mutual agreement. Screw convention! Next thing they knew, they were both clutching at arms, tugging on shoulders, and diving back in for more. Mouths groped, tongues tested, and hearts pounded. Then Arthur pulled back, to Merlin’s dismay.  He whimpered a protest, which went unheeded.

“All those things you said you saw today...so, they were real?” Arthur asked breathlessly.

“What? No. I mean, no one else sees them, so they can’t be. Right?”

“But you’re magic, so it makes sense. And you said they were all evil monsters?”

“Well, yes, but...I mean, you all thought Percival was a giant too, and he’s not really scary is he?”

“Hmm, hard to say. But the other things sounded nasty.” Merlin tilted his head, considering the phenomena.

“When I was in high school, I had a girlfriend for a little while,” he remembered. “Her name was Freya. I could have sworn she was like Bagheera at night, just a wild black animal. Then she decided she was in love with my friend Will. The two of them were almost killed one time by a falling statue. But I saw it come to life. It was a gargoyle, and it came to life and swooped down on them. I yelled and threw my backpack at it, and it fell to the ground and shattered. Everyone said I was a hero for yelling and warning them to get out of the way. I just accepted that, rather than say it was a monster trying to grab them and that I had destroyed it. But it was real, wasn’t it?” Merlin shuddered. “I’m not crazy?” Arthur cradled his face in his hands.

“No, you’re not.” He kissed his lips gently. “You’re a sorcerer, and you’re my _boyfriend_.”  Arthur tested the word on for size, and nodded in satisfaction.

“Lol, I thought I was to be your _best_ friend?”

“Naw, boyfriend is even better,” Arthur told him, continuing getting acquainted with Merlin in his new capacity.

“MMM-Hmmm!” said Merlin, as they mingled their lips and limbs and gave in to their newfound desires.


	4. The Gauntlet

Morning dawned bright and fair. Which is to say, Merlin woke up instantly alert and with a face full of fair hair. He blew the blond hair away from where it was tickling his nose, and took stock of the tanned and defined arm pinning him down. He cast an affectionate glance toward the arm’s owner and tried to shove the arm further down his bare chest in an attempt to wriggle out from under it. A set of teeth chomped playfully into his shoulder, preventing his escape.

“Not done with you,” growled Arthur. He then proceeded to effectuate an intense morning workout. Perhaps they were relatively awkward in figuring out how this male-on-male routine worked, but they gave it their all, and laughed and kissed their apologies onto one another's skin. The end result was satisfactory, as they collapsed sated at long last.

“Gack! Now I really, REALLY need a shower,” panted Merlin with a wry grin. “What time is breakfast?” Arthur twisted around to snatch up his phone from the bedside table behind him.

“Half an hour ago,” he said. “Probably shouldn’t have done, you know...”

“Each other,” smirked Merlin.

“Cheeky,” Arthur said with a light nip to Merlin’s nose. He pushed himself off Merlin and off the bed, heading out the door and across the hall. “Shower!” he declared over his shoulder.

“Hey, wait, I called it first!” hollered Merlin, scrambling after him. Arthur waited for him to catch up. Merlin took a moment to run his eyes over all the naked flesh before him, the tempting round cheeks. Then he let his hands run over it as well.

“Well, I wasn’t going to wash my own back, _Mer_ -lin,” Arthur told him.

They missed Freshmen's Assembly, too.

*****

Arthur stared at Merlin. Merlin stared at Arthur.

“What are the odds?” Merlin said. “How can we BOTH have all the same classes?”

“Dunno, Merls,” Arthur replied. “Economics, Poly Sci, Business Admin, sure, but whatever possessed you to take Greek?”

“Well, you too,” Merlin answered back. They had headed out to collect their course outlines from the indicated classrooms, and Arthur had snatched up Merlin’s schedule to check against his own. Surprised wasn’t the correct word, not after all the bizarre happenings of the last 24 hours.

“There has to be a reason we are so...” Arthur hesitated.

“Aligned? It’s _destiny_ ,” Merlin breathed out coyly, dropping his head with dramatic flare to Arthur’s shoulder. “We’re _meant to be_ ,” he cooed. Arthur laughed and pushed Merlin’s head off, ruffling his hair playfully.

“Idiot,” he said. “Still, whatever it is, keep your eyes peeled, and let me know the minute you notice anything weird.” They nodded, sharing a look, and headed in resolutely to meet the Greek prof.

Merlin immediately turned to clutch at Arthur upon seeing the man at the desk, panicking. Arthur looked past his quirky new boyfriend at the professor. A bit craggy-looking; an older man; probably wise, judging from appearances. Then again, probably _dangerous_ , judging from Merlin’s reaction. The professor spoke to them.

“Come in. Let me have a look at you. πεπρωμένο περιμένει.”

“Huh?” said Arthur, forcibly turning Merlin around and shoving him further into the room. “Yes, well, I’m, um, Arthur Pendragon, and this is Merlin Emrys. We’re taking Greek. I guess you know that.” Arthur pressed his lips together firmly. He was not used to being nervous. Geez, he sounded like Merlin.

“I am Professor Kilgarrah. This is your course outline. Do not lose it. If you follow my instructions and do all you are meant to do in a timely fashion, we shall have no problems. ARE WE CLEAR?” The professor spoke with clipped tones, and his final bark was insistent.

“Yessir, thank you sir,” said Arthur hurriedly, taking the two sheets of paper for the both of them.  He marched Merlin straight back out the door.  Merlin didn’t require persuading to go.

They made it down the stairs, out the side door of Caerleon Building, and half way across the quad before Arthur asked Merlin what he had seen.

“Couldn’t you see the smoke coming out when he yelled?” gasped Merlin. “Big voice, big big.”

“Yeah, he was kinda loud,” said Arthur. “And he did sound rather ‘steamed up’ about something. Or maybe he’d been smoking?” Merlin shook his head vehemently.

“You don’t understand. He’s a dragon.”

“What?!? Uh, yeah, Merlin, I don’t think a dragon would fit behind that desk, eh? Maybe you were mistaken?”

“No, it’s like he was half in and half out of our dimension, I can’t really describe it. But he’s a huge dragon. Big, big,” Merlin began to babble incoherently. Arthur shook his head, tucked Merlin under his arm, and led him further across the quad to their next class in Essetir Hall.

*****

They met up with the others at lunch time. Merlin agreed with Arthur; they needed help, and it was time to tell their friends what was happening. Well, Lance already knew some of it.

“Not Percy, please,” Merlin warned. “He still might be something other than what he appears.” So they all came to Arthur’s flat, having received text-messages summoning everyone to a secret gathering. Elyan was instructed to bring Elena and Mithian along. Gwen had been seen with Lance that morning, so they entrusted her with contacting him. Arthur had ordered pizza for the lot. The only things in his kitchenette were just some crisps and biscuits and soda.

“What would I buy food for? Like I’m going to cook it?” he said when Merlin commented. Merlin hushed right up, not eager to be chief-cook-and-bottle-washer if Arthur should find out he was quite skilled in the kitchen. Maybe in a few weeks, when things quieted down. He fanned his face with the pizza flyer; _if_ things quieted down.

“We, Merlin and I that is, have some surprising news. Unbelievable news,” Arthur began, as they grabbed their slices.

“Yeah, we can see, man,” said Gwaine through a mouthful. Arthur looked down to where his fingers were laced with Merlin’s. They also happened to have sat scrunched up together in a single easy chair. He shrugged.

“No, no. I mean, yes, but there’s something else,” he hastened to say. Merlin went red.

“I don’t know little brother,” said Morgana, tapping her chin with a perfectly manicured crimson fingertip. “I think you should at least _start_ there. Inquiring minds want to know.” Elena and Mithian giggled.

“Yes, fine, so Merlin and I did more than sleep last night,” started Arthur. Merlin squeaked and buried his face in Arthur’s shoulder.

“Do I really need to be here for this?” asked Elyan. “TMI, Arthur.”

“Oh, hush, they’re sweet together,” cut in Gwen. The other girls chorused their agreement.

“Okay okay okay, so, Merlin and I are 'together'. But, that aside, we need you to be serious for a minute. We believe there are _monsters_ on campus, and they are here for some nefarious purpose.” Elyan and Leon exchanged dubious looks. Lance nodded affirmatively. Gwaine kept on stuffing his face. The girls continued to snicker, unable to take Arthur seriously. “Merlin, show them,” said Arthur.

“What? WHAT?” Merlin popped his head up to stare at Arthur. “I can’t just...you know.”

“Look, so this is what we have so far,” Arthur plowed on without Merlin’s help. “There’s a gremlin in the library stealing money. There are ghosts in the M Block Residence. There are live snakes in the crest on the wall of the Sports Complex. There are unicorns by the coffee shop. There’s um, what else Merls?”

“Water monster in the swimming pool. Troll and dragon professors,” Merlin supplied timidly. “And don’t forget the weird fur on the registration lady.”

“Alice White, yeah, you mentioned that. What was it?” Arthur asked, ignoring the controversial subject of the troll.

“It was like strips of grey skin more than like fur, now that I think about it. What did you say it came from? A cat?” Arthur nodded.

“So, also a cat-monster,” Arthur continued. “And we are concerned that Percival might be an actual giant.”

“Oh, hey, now wait!” cried out Gwaine, indignant. “That’s profiling, that’s bigotry, you can’t just decide...” Arthur raised his hands in surrender.

“Whoa, yeah, we admit that Percy is probably normal, but just to be on the safe side we’ll keep him out of the loop for now, agreed?” Gwaine grumbled how SOME people’s girlfriends got trusted without question, but he nodded nonetheless.

“You actually believe him?” Elyan said to Gwaine. “Your only concern is that your ‘buddy’ is on the monster list with the rest of that nonsense?” Gwaine shrugged, and nodded at him.

“How are unicorns dangerous anyway?” asked Gwen, returning to another point. Lance smiled at her.

“That’s what Arthur said when WE saw them,” he said. Everyone turned to stare at him.

“You _saw_ them?” Leon and Morgana asked in sync. Lance wiped his hands clean from pizza residue onto his trousers, considering his answer.

“Well, we saw them in disguise. You know, as horses. Plastic horses.” Grimaces and then laughter broke out, as the group all concluded they’d been ‘had’.

“Fine!” said Merlin, not willing to give up, and a little bit mad. He blinked once, hard. His eyes flashed a golden light, and in an instant ...

“Ho – lee – smokes!” said Elena. “I’m a fairy.”

“Hee haw,” said Arthur, shaking his long floppy grey-brown ears and glaring angrily at Merlin. The others jumped back in shocked surprise.

Merlin gulped. “I take it back!” he shouted. And it was so. More importantly, everyone finally seemed convinced. Although Elena looked disappointed to be human again, and Arthur continued to glare at Merlin for his impudence.

After much discussion, and much confusion, they decided to reconnoiter and gather as much intel as possible before taking any action. It was hard to guess what exactly they were trying to thwart. Somebody had to start somewhere. So the girls were charged with checking out the library, in particular the back of the filing cabinet to see what was being hoarded there. They set off immediately, whispering madly to each other, excited and high on adrenaline.

After the girls had left, the guys considered their options, and tried to come up with solutions for how Merlin could focus his powers in a concrete manner. Arthur had explained about the lamp and the door that Merlin had controlled. So it followed that each monster would require a unique approach, but what form would that take?

“Wait a minute," Elyan spoke up anxiously. "Did you say something about M Block? Our father is an electrician with Pendragon Corp, and he’s coming tomorrow to work on their electrical problem. Is that even safe?” The others looked to Merlin and Arthur, wide-eyed.

“I’d say very _un-_ safe," predicted Arthur. He thought hard for a moment, then clapped his hands together decisively. "We need to deal with that one first, then. Tonight. Cover of darkness and all that. We’ll figure it out as we go. Are we all in?” He looked at each one. They nodded.

“Ha ha!” Gwaine cheered, breaking the tension. “All for one and one for all, Victory or Death, Once more unto the breach!” They shook their heads, laughing uneasily. What an ill-timed clown.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> πεπρωμένο περιμένει = destiny awaits


	5. The Set Up

Elena and Mithian strolled into the library, and proceeded to amble up and down between the stacks, chatting loudly, and ‘accidently’ knocking books onto the floor. They were disappointed not to see any strange supernatural creatures creeping about, but at least their behaviour had the desired effect. The librarian Geoffrey Monmouth came barrelling after them. Dodging in and out, they attempted to lead him further away from the front desk.

Morgana and Gwen crept in behind the counter, and approached the filing cabinet.

“Keep watch,” hissed Morgana. Gwen nodded, and Morgana proceeded to carefully slide open the bottom drawer. Crouching down, she reached her arm over and past the files of papers and groped around at the back. She angled her hand down behind the drawer and took hold of something. When she pulled it out, Gwen leaned in to take a look.

“Jewelry? I thought Merlin said money,” Gwen commented. Morgana shook her head.

“That’s not all.”  She gestured with the tangled handful of gold chains. “More jewelry, other things, and underneath there were coins sliding about.”

“Shhh! Put it back,” urged Gwen, hearing the voices of the other girls coming closer.

Elena was saying, “Well, we didn’t think anyone would be studying in here yet, so why do we have to be quiet?” She was talking quite loudly so that Morgana and Gwen would be warned. Morgana returned the necklaces and swiftly slid the drawer shut with a small click. She was just standing up and turning around when Monmouth appeared at the other side of the desk.

“ _What_ are you young ladies doing there? That is _not_ permitted,” he sniffed his disapproval.

“We are SO sorry for the intrusion,” Gwen put on her most charming smile. “This is Morgana Pendragon, and I am Guinevere Smith. We are scheduled to work here this semester, and we were just wondering if you’d be so kind as to show us around.” No one could resist Gwen’s appeal.

Except, apparently, Geoffrey Monmouth, who drew himself up officiously and said, “NOT until tomorrow at 12:30 pm. Return at that time. Rules and regulations _must_ be adhered to!” He cast his evil eye upon Elena and Mithian as well, and the four girls scurried out the door, chastised.

“Well?” Elena asked, barely allowing the door to close behind them, “What did you find? Did you find anything?” Morgana pulled them all further away from the library and told them what they’d discovered.

“So it’s true, then,” said Mithian. “Somebody or some _thing_ has put that stuff there. Question is who and why?”

“I vote we believe Merlin,” Elena nodded sagaciously. “He’s the warlock. It must have been the gremlin.” They went to rendezvous with the guys to tell them the news.

*****

The afternoon was eaten up by a mandatory “University Living” workshop for freshmen. A number of faculty members as well as seniors led discussions of life in and about Albion University, and getting to know the city of Camelot. They received an overview of resources and clubs available, the student success program, and important contacts for health services, chaplains, taxi companies, etc. There were also details on a whole slew of upcoming social events; something called 'sock day', the bow-tie revolution, the improv theatre. Merlin began to panic at the overwhelming choices before him. It took a great deal of patience on Arthur's part to keep him from hyperventilating.

"Why don't we just stick together?" he suggested to Merlin as they perused the optional activities available. "We don't have to do anything we don't like, right?" Merlin nodded, clutching and wrinkling the multitude of handouts he'd been given. He was trying to slow his breathing as they left the auditorium. As if in a school of fish, they flowed with the crowd to the campus bookstore, where Arthur insisted on purchasing the books for the two of them to share, seeing as how they were taking all the same classes.

“How did you select your courses, anyway?” Arthur asked Merlin as he paid.

“The career guidance counselor told me what I needed to take,” Merlin said. “He was the one who suggested Greek, too. I just went with his recommendations because I didn’t want to put my scholarship in jeopardy.”

“Oh? What was his or her name?” Arthur asked, suspicious. _His_ guidance counselor had told _him_ what to take as well.

“Dr. Edwin Muirden.” Arthur pursed his lips and nodded. It was as he suspected. The same man. He had set the two of them up. But to what end?

“He wasn’t a monster, by any chance?” Arthur asked. Merlin shook his head, puzzled. Arthur explained the ‘coincidence’. Then another thought occurred to him. “ _He's_ the one that put us in with Kilgarrah. The dragon!”

Merlin opened his mouth in a ‘O’. “He’s out to kill us, isn’t he?” Merlin fussed.

“And we have Greek class first thing tomorrow morning. You better think of a way to kill a dragon before then.”

“If we survive tonight,” Merlin said gloomily.

*****

The evening meal saw the group making their way to the cafeteria. Percival was included; Gwaine insisted, still miffed about the secrecy. Percy simply had no idea what was going on behind his back, and Gwaine was afraid he'd never forgive them once he found out. Gwaine reeeeeally liked his new significant other, even if he wasn't a girl.

They noticed the groundskeeper just setting up his fake horses in a new location. Arthur pointed them out to the others who stared at them, fascinated. Percy looked back and forth between them and the lawn ornaments, obviously trying to understand.

“Is that THEM?” Gwen asked Merlin quietly. He nodded, a happy smile lighting up his face. He seemed relaxed, much more at ease than when he’d first arrived at the university. Arthur was glad. Dealing with monsters was an awful burden. Merlin really needed more ‘unicorns’ in his anxious life. Merlin looked like he was wanting to go over and pet them, but Arthur hooked him by the arm.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Arthur tutted. “You can play with the horsies some other time. Right now we’re going to eat. Then we’re having an _early_ night. Right?”

“Oh yeah, _sure_.” Merlin turned back to grab Arthur's hand and plaster himself up against his side.  He smiled salaciously. “I can’t wait!” Gwaine guffawed, and even Percy chuckled. The girls shook their heads, but Elyan, Leon and Lance exchanged knowing looks. There was work to be done tonight.


	6. The Electrical Ghosts

A pair of blue eyes peered up through the long grass at the edge of the chain link fence around M Block. Merlin gestured back for Arthur to join him, not taking his eyes off the building in question, and a second later another set of blue eyes appeared close over his shoulder. The darkness concealed the stealthy crew behind them, Leon, Lancelot, Gwaine, and Elyan. The girls remained in the dark, as it were, regarding this operation.

“Can you see Ms. Cailleach? She has to be there somewhere,” whispered Gwaine loudly. Elyan thwacked him into silence. Merlin shook his head briefly and put his hand up to the fence. A faint glow came from his hand, and an even fainter glow from under his eyelids, which he had closed, and the fence split apart. He opened his eyes and blinked in wonder that it worked. All he'd had to think of was 'scissorhands'. It was hard to get used to.

Arthur peeled back the edge of the fence and shoved Merlin through. The others followed, and he joined them as they snaked across the lawn, dodging behind every available bush and skirting the edge of the light from the road lamp behind them. As they got to the edge of the building, Arthur gestured for the other four to split up. Leon and Lancelot (who couldn’t lie to save his life) went toward the rear of the building as lookouts, and Gwaine and Elyan to the front doors to serve as a distraction. Arthur pulled Merlin in close to him as the boy tried to go with Gwaine and Elyan. Clearly he needed some more training in standard ‘hand signals 101’.

Merlin squiggled around and grinned at Arthur, a flirtatious look on his face. Arthur rolled his eyes.

“Not now, idiot,” hissed Arthur. “We’re waiting for the guys to clear the way. Pay attention!” Merlin narrowed his eyes and nuzzled along Arthur’s cheek.

“Are you sure there’s _nothing_ we can do while waiting?” Merlin whispered, his lips brushing Arthur’s tantalizingly. Arthur shoved him gently off.

“Ssss,” Arthur said under his breath. “Clearly you know nothing about being furtive.”

“GhostBUSTERS,” chanted Merlin cheekily, not very quiet at all. Luckily, Elyan and Gwaine were now making enough noise to raise the dead. They had their arms slung around each other as if holding one another up, and sang with slurring voices.

“Waht shall wee doo witha drrrunkin saaayler, waht shhhall wuh wuh wuh...” they tripped over an imaginary obstacle. The doors banged open, flung wide. The interior of M Block was pitch black, and the figure that almost levitated forth was dark and ominous-looking. It was Housemother Cailleach, complete with crutch, black robes, iron grey hair sticking out in every direction, and big staring lidless eyes.

“Who are you? YOU cannot come here. This building is CLOSED. There are electrical abnormalities. Danger. DANGER!” she screeched.

“Oh, ho! Why arrrrre you here, then?” Gwaine boldly pointed at the Cailleach. She advanced on them, and they staggered back, clutching at each other in what they maintained afterwards was all part of the performance.

“Isn’t this B Bbblock?” Elyan stuttered. “I think we live here. Don’t we? Yeah, that’s it, we live here now.”

“Go. Now. GO!” The old woman glided closer to them, essentially chasing them to the front gate. They retreated clumsily and made a show of fumbling with the gate latch, whether because of actual trembling hands or not. Behind the Cailleach, Elyan caught a glimpse of Merlin and Arthur just slipping inside the building, and nudged Gwaine it was time to go.

Once out, Gwaine and Elyan meandered aimlessly up the lane, until a glance back showed their adversary was out of sight. Then they ducked back, cutting around another building and creeping up once more to the hole in the fence.

Inside, Merlin took the lead, pulling and pushing Arthur through doorways and around corners that only he could see, by the light of the silvery ghosts. They reached some stairs, Merlin hurriedly whispering a caution, and headed downwards.

“What do you see?” Arthur dared to whisper, his teeth chattering with the apparent cold of the night. Really he knew it was something far more insidious.

“Yeah, there are ghosts everywhere. Whenever they touch me, it feels like frost bite.” Merlin shivered.

“I feel them, too,” said Arthur. “What about the portal? You said we had to close it somehow?”  Merlin had done a little research on Arthur's computer before heading out.

“Well, mythically speaking, there would need to be a sacrifice to seal a rift between the world of the dead and ours. Technologically speaking, I’m thinking about looking for the main circuit breaker. It’s being called an electrical problem, so if we flip the switch, that should do it.” Merlin paused, apparently looking back and forth.

“Look for an electrical panel on the wall, then," Arthur suggested.  "Or maybe a heavy door. Labelled ‘KEEP OUT’.  And how will we know if it works?” he asked. Merlin huffed.

“Because I’m doing it,” he said, as if it were obvious.

“Full of yourself? Hmm?” teased Arthur, but he knew it was probably true. Merlin was 100% magic, and anything he ‘tried’ to do would work just because he intended it to work. It wasn’t scientific, it was simply pure unadulterated Merlin-power.

“Yup.”

“And once the power is off?” Arthur pressed. “Ms. Cailleach will stop being spooky?  I knew her before, she's just a normal weird old lady.”

“Well, no, probably not,” Merlin’s grin sounded in his voice. “But at least she won’t be trying to kill Gwen and Elyan's father anymore.”

"If that's really what she's trying to do," Arthur briefly entertained the possibility they had it all wrong.

“Here!” said Merlin finally. There was a recessed room with floor to ceiling panels. The cold was causing their breath to come out in clouds, which Arthur could feel. He blew between his fingers to warm them, and directed Merlin further.

“There should be one main switch, maybe at the bottom of a panel, bigger than the rest.” Merlin searched, pulling open panels with icy fingers, hurrying.

“I think I’ve got it. Here, feel.” Merlin guided Arthur’s hand to the switch he’d found.

“That’d be it. Do it,” instructed Arthur. Merlin closed his eyes to the ghostly shapes swooping in and around them. He hadn’t mentioned the wailing. Arthur didn’t need to know everything. But Merlin had put up with weird things his whole life, and now that he had friends who believed him and were willing to back him up, he wasn’t so scared anymore. He flipped the switch.

BANG!

Arthur could feel the change immediately. It felt like a normal, dark utility room. No creepy, goosebumpy, nightmarish sensation. He let out a breath in relief. He felt Merlin suddenly lean heavily on him, so he wrapped a steadying arm around Merlin's waist.

“You okay? That took a lot out of you?” Arthur said with great concern.

“No, um,” Merlin said hesitantly. “Now that they’re gone, I can’t see anymore. And, um. I’m maybe scared of the dark?” he confessed. Arthur laughed, reassured. He turned and, leading Merlin by the arm, headed back out feeling his way by memory.

They passed a dazed, tired-looking old lady at the front of the building as they came out into the light of the street lamps.

“Boys!” she called, voice scratchy and hesitant. “Do you know why the power is out? I can’t get the lights to switch on.”

“Hello, Ms. Cailleach. It’s Arthur Pendragon. I know, the power IS out, but I hear an electrician is due tomorrow. Might as well go home.” The Cailleach nodded, still perceptibly confused, and hobbled off with her crutch down the path and out the gate.

Lance and Leon rushed up, and Gwaine and Elyan crept through the fence to join the boys.

“Is it done, then? All clear?” Elyan asked anxiously. His father’s life was on the line.

“All clear,” Arthur told him. “One down!” They all slapped Merlin on the back in acknowledgement of his magical defeat of the banshees. Arthur hugged his boyfriend close. “We’ll call it a night, boys. Merlin needs to get to bed, he’s wiped out.”

“Uh-huh, yeah, sure, get some ‘rest’,” Gwaine quipped with a smirk. “Think I’ll go see if Percival needs tucking in.” They strutted out down the road to their various residences, rambunctious, victorious, and optimistic that they would prevail.

*****

Merlin woke up in the middle of the night.

“Arthur! Pssst, Arthur!”

“What is it, Merlin? More monsters?”

“I forgot to call my mother!”


	7. The Afanc

Merlin crawled out of bed and dragged himself across the hall to the bathroom where Arthur stood brushing his teeth, hair wet, towel wrapped around his waist.

“Morning,” he said, giving a quick kiss to Arthur’s shoulder. He turned the shower on, yawning widely, and half-tripped getting in.

“Don’t kill yourself,” Arthur warned, spitting out the remains of his toothpaste. “More monster-busting today, love.”

Merlin answered around another yawn. “Awwyaoh-gaw-arf.” Arthur was about to make a snarky reply when the door buzzed.

“Someone’s here,” he called out to Merlin as he headed out for the intercom. He pressed the button. “Hello, yes?”

“Arthur! Let me in! Hurry!” It was Morgana. Arthur hastened to buzz her in. He called again to Merlin, and headed into the bedroom to get his clothes on quickly. Just finishing with pulling his shirt on, he heard pounding on the door, and went to open it.

“Arthur, you need to come quick!” Morgana tugged urgently on his arm. “It’s Leon.”

“What? Slow down. What’s happening?” Arthur freed his arm and started putting his shoes on.

“His dad arranged for him to try out for the swim team,” Morgana was running her words together, frantic. “You know he wasn’t good enough last year? Well, Nimueh phoned his father up and offered to give Leon a shot. THIS MORNING. NOW! His dad’s come and is taking him down there. Leon just texted me. He tried to refuse, but you know his dad. And the water-monster is still in the pool! Where’s Merlin? We need him.”

“In the shower. MERLS?” Arthur yelled. The water turned off, and soon a dark wet head appeared around the bathroom door.

“What...oh, hi Morgana.” Merlin stayed well back behind the door. “What is it?” Arthur gave him the five-second version, and told him to hurry. Morgana turned her back, so Merlin could dash in his towel across to the bedroom. Moments later, he was out scrambling his shoes on, and the three of them hurried out the door.

“For Pete’s sake, it’s 7:30 in the morning," Arthur panted, as they jogged across the campus. "Didn’t Mr. Tourney think it odd Nimueh wanted to have tryouts at this hour?” Arthur wasn't really looking for an answer, but Merlin spoke up anyway.

“You said the lifeguard called Leon’s father?” Merlin asked. Morgana nodded. “Who’s he, exactly? Why would he have to be here?”

Morgana considered the question. “Name’s Rupert Tourney. Works for Pendragon Corp. Projects manager. Used to be champion swimmer. Wants Leon to, too.” Morgana gasped out her response as she ran.

“So Nimueh is trying to do what? Scare them both? Or...” Arthur said.

“Kill them,” Merlin finished the thought. “So how do we stop her?”

“Nimueh is from Camelot,” supplied Arthur. “We’ve known her a long time. She must be under the monster’s control. We destroy it and she’ll be back to normal. Just like Ms Cailleach.”

“Cailleach?” Morgana sent her brother a shocked look. “What did you guys do?”

“Well,” Arthur hesitated to explain just now. “Let’s just say, we know the monsters can be defeated.” Morgana would have given her brother a piece of her mind, but they had arrived at the pool, and scrambled over one another to get inside quickly.

The lifeguard was instructing Leon to get in the pool when they arrived. Leon looked to his friends desperately and tilted his head in the direction of the pool-cleaning device. It was on the left-hand side of the pool, and there was a rope cordoning off his lane from where it chugged away.

“Go on,” Nimueh purred. “The water’s perfectly fine now. The cleaner is just finishing up. It won’t be in your way.”

Leon’s father was there, arms crossed and looking expectantly at Leon. “You can do it, son. Go make me proud!” Leon steeled himself with a breath, then took a deeper breath and dove in, to the shock and dismay of his friends. They watched anxiously as he reached the far end of the pool and turned to head back their way.

Merlin gasped and reached out to grab Arthur by the arm.

“The tentacles!” he said. Arthur saw just then that Leon’s leg had somehow gotten tangled in the rope between the buoys. Leon grabbed at his leg and tried to free it, struggling. Mr Tourney ran yelling up the side of the pool. When it became clear that Leon was in dire straits, Mr Tourney kicked off his shoes and dove in to help. The water-monster turned and began to inexorably make its way towards the two men in the water.

When the three friends looked to Nimueh, she was just standing there unconcerned, smiling benevolently as if all was well.

“C’mon,” shouted Arthur, and the three of them ran around to where the hose lay across the deck.

“What do we do now?” asked Morgana, as they reached the pump. Merlin shrugged helplessly.

“Think!” Arthur said in consternation. “It’s doing what? Sucking up dirt and water, right? So stop it from working?” They looked over the pump, but it had no plug attached. Must have been self-powered, either gas or battery. Morgana started searching for some sort of weapon with which to bash it.

“Pull its tail,” Merlin said suddenly. “If we get it out of the water, it’ll suck air and die.” With that suggestion, Arthur was ready for action and they both took hold of the slimy thick ‘tail’. They began hauling hand over hand. It was as if the machine was fighting back, trying to drag them in too. They braced themselves and pulled harder.

Morgana, who had been scrambling around in the lifeguard’s office, emerged suddenly with two other people, a man and a woman. They each held a tire-iron, and had supplied Morgana with one as well.

“What do you need us to do?” the man asked gravely.

“Hit the pump! Kill it!” hollered Arthur over his shoulder, continuing to pull. Then three tire-irons started wailing on the defenseless pump. Nimueh instantly came to life, charging around the pool screeching. Arthur and Merlin tugged doggedly on the hose.

All at once, the machine was pulled clear of the water. It made a whooshing sucking noise, sputtered and began to falter. The pump also suddenly gave way under all the beatings, and sparks and flames shot up out of it. Everyone stood back and watched as it died off completely.

“It’s dead,” Merlin said, breathing hard. Across the pool, they could see Leon and his father finally climbing safely out. Nimueh stared at them, a strange expression on her face.

“Excuse me,” she called. “Rupert, is that you? What are you doing in my pool with your clothes on? You’ll contaminate the water!” She looked startled when everybody laughed. The irony.

 

*****

Mr Tourney was talking with Nimueh in the pool office, and Leon went to get dressed, while the others gathered outside to meet the newcomers.

“I’m Arthur Pendragon, and this is my sister Morgana,” Arthur started right in. “And this is Merlin Emrys. So who are you two?”

“I’m Isolde, and this is my partner, Tristan,” the woman said. “We’re part of a SWWAT task-force investigating some...odd occurrences. Our specialty is weapons and supply.”

“It has become clear to us that you,” Tristan indicated Merlin, “are able to see things we cannot.”

Merlin, looking skeptical, prevaricated. “Weren’t you two talking with Morgause the first day? At the punch bowl. I remember.”

“Yes,” replied Tristan amicably. “Morgause is our Director. She was able to direct you to the sites where disturbances were detected. Kilgarrah is our seer.” Merlin and Arthur grimaced at that. “He told us the two of you, Emrys and Pendragon, would be needed to circumvent disaster.”

“You mean like killing monsters?” asked Arthur, gratified to be part of a team, and not relegated to ‘sidekick’.

“Yes,” answered Tristan. “And so we had another operative, Dr. Edwin Muirden, arrange Emrys’s scholarship to Albion University.”

“And ensure we took the same classes?” said Merlin. “Such as _Greek_?”

“See, we don’t know if we trust a _dragon_ ,” added Arthur.

“Well,” Isolde looked at her partner, “We do agree that he is strange. But without him, these ‘monsters’ would succeed in their plot.”

“Which is?” asked Morgana, glad to finally be getting down to it.

“We don’t know,” said Isolde. “Only that you have now destroyed the Afanc, and last night I believe you managed to banish the Dorocha.”

“The ghosts? Yeah,” said Arthur. “We think they were after Tom Smith, who works for my father. He’s an electrician.”

“Curious,” said Tristan, with a sharp look at Isolde. “And these men who were in the pool?”

“That was Leon and his father, Mr Tourney,” Morgana told him. “He also works for our father. In fact, he helped design and build this whole sports complex this past year.” The two newcomers seemed very interested to hear that piece of news.

“What about the other building, where you defeated the Dorocha,” asked Tristan. “When was that built?”

“Yes,” Morgana continued, getting hold of the idea. “That was also built at the same time because there was the extra land and they needed a new student residence. Mr Smith was their electrician. Pendragon Corp. ran the whole contract, put in all the sports fields, the swimming pool...”

“Our father wanted to contribute to our university experience,” explained Arthur. “And he doesn’t do 'understated'.”

“What else have you seen, Emrys?” asked Tristan, urgently. “We will see if there are more connections.” Merlin took the time to go over every detail he could remember, the others trying (unhelpfully) to contribute their thoughts on what each could mean.

“I think you boys need to talk to Kilgarrah,” Isolde said at last. “Emrys is the only one we know of who can see through a glamour, or who has the magic to stop the beasts. But we still do not know why Pendragon Corp. is being targeted. Or what is coming next. Ask Kilgarrah for help.”

Arthur and Merlin looked at each other grimly. It was time for class.


	8. Goblin-fluence

Professor Kilgarrah presided over the Greek class like a dragon selecting his next meal. That’s how Merlin saw it. The students as one were reciting, “alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta...”

Arthur was whispering urgently to Merlin.

“We’re supposed to enlist his help, which means we have to talk to him, Merlin.” Arthur didn’t seem frightened of the dragon, but then again he couldn't actually see it. Merlin had a healthy respect for the large TEETH inside the very large MOUTH that could gulp them down in one bite if Kilgarrah chose. He scootched his chair in closer to Arthur’s. It must be noted that he did not learn much about Greek that day.

After class, when the other students had finished filing out, the boys approached their professor. Merlin hung back, his hand tightly clasped in Arthur’s.

“I see you have begun serving the needs of Albion,” Kilgarrah said before they got the nerve to speak. “As two halves of one coin, you can achieve great things together. Yet in the end this coin must be used to pay the price.”

“Speak plainly,” Arthur said. “We know there are monsters attacking my father’s employees. One is apparently attempting to _marry_ my father. We need to know how to stop them, and we need to know why they are here and who’s behind this.” Merlin just nodded in agreement, dumbstruck at this proximity to the beast.

“Ah, who indeed?” said Kilgarrah. “And perhaps we should allow Uther Pendragon to marry a monster. He himself has done monstrous deeds.”

“You yourself are not what you appear to be,” said Arthur meaningfully. “How can we trust you?” The dragon narrowed his eyes in a penetrating stare, a truly frightening expression that only Merlin could fully appreciate at this point.

“Your destiny and that of your young warlock have brought you to this time and location for a reason. You alone have the power to overcome this evil.”

“Merlin has been trying. He figured out how to stop the ghosts, uh, the Dorocha. AND the water-thing.”

“The Afanc,” Merlin murmured into Arthur's shoulder..

“But there are others,” Arthur explained. “Snakes, a cat, a gremlin, the troll, and some unicorns.”

Kilgarrah looked puzzled. “What is a gremlin? And why are you trying to defeat a cat? I do not understand. And unicorns? This makes no sense. Snakes can be bad, maybe. And the troll definitely needs to be dealt with. Fine, go kill them all. Makes no difference to me. You’re the heroes.” With that the professor dismissed them, and they left with precious little to go on.

“Kill them all, huh?” said Merlin, finding his voice as they rushed off to their next lecture. “And you’d think he’d know more about magical creatures, being one himself. _How_ do we kill them? And we can’t kill the troll, because she probably wasn’t a troll before, she’s just, like, possessed. And the unicorns aren’t monsters. If I could somehow talk to them, I bet they’d give a straight answer.”

“And he never heard of ‘gremlins’?” Arthur added. “Maybe we should talk to Morgause, seeing as how she’s their director. Dragons are much too confusing.” Merlin nodded.

*****

When lunchtime rolled around, Arthur and Merlin were in the cafeteria with their friends. They were animatedly brainstorming approaches to the various creatures that remained. Morgana and Gwen had headed out to their first shift in the library, assuring the boys that a gremlin-thief didn’t seem exactly ‘dangerous’. It would probably be fine for now.

Arthur, Lance, Elyan, and Gwaine tackled the question of tryouts for the football team that afternoon. While they were keen to join the team, the fact that it was near that large school crest with the snakes on it did not escape them. Coach Valiant was almost certainly the human affected by these magical reptiles. Mithian and Elena were quite enthusiastic about wrestling snakes, although no one was certain how they would be able to see the snakes to engage in mortal combat with them. Merlin again felt put on the spot to come up with a solution.

“Shut up everyone,” warned Arthur. “Here comes Percy.” Gwaine scowled, and opened his mouth to begin yet another diatribe about judging a book by its cover.

“I knew university would be stressful,” Merlin complained worriedly, poking his pasta salad with disinterest.

“You’re doing splendidly so far.” Arthur gave him an encouraging peck on the cheek. “Save the world the first week, it’s all downhill from there.”

Naturally this is when Morgause appeared at their table and called them out for slacking off.

“I understand you have been waging war against dark forces, for which I thank you. But whatever are you all doing sitting around? You must come quickly!” she ordered forcefully. “The two girls in the library are in trouble.” Merlin and Arthur exchanged glances of apprehension, and jumped up with the others to charge off to the library. Poor Percival had just that minute retrieved his lunch tray and turned around to see everyone had disappeared.

“I must be quicker next time,” he was heard to tell himself resolutely.

*****

Morgana and Gwen had been lucky to be granted jobs in the library. So they thought. But now it looked like they had been set up. When the gang arrived, the two girls were stood at attention beside the open filing cabinet, with a large glittering pile of coins and trophies and jewelry on the counter in front of them. Morgana was more pale than usual, and Gwen was chewing her lip anxiously. Geoffrey Monmouth stood sternly before them, currently ranting about stealing, scandal, expulsion, and jail time. (Luck, forsooth!)

“Whoa, wait a minute,” Arthur interrupted, holding his anger in check. “What is your accusation based on? Morgana and Gwen are not thieves.” Lance paced back and forth, clearly upset. He would have gone to Gwen, but Monmouth was blocking his way. Elyan stood still, but his fists were clenched. Even Gwaine was silenced by the dour looks from the librarian.

“It was only yesterday I found the two of them fiddling around with this very file cabinet where the loot was hidden,” Geoffrey stated gruffly. “The dean and the police will take my word for it. Besides, I already filed a report about yesterday’s incident. These girls will leave the school in disgrace.” He lifted a heavy old rotary phone up onto the counter and began to dial laboriously. Elena and Mithian carefully slipped back out of sight, in case they might wind up co-accused due to their complicity in yesterday’s antics.

Merlin had been quietly watching the gremlin creep back and forth from the pile of shining treasure to the filing cabinet, hell bent on reclaiming his hoard. One piece after another was tucked back into hiding. He pointed it out to Arthur, who shrugged when he couldn’t quite determine what was going on. Arthur raised his eyebrows and made some complicated sort of hand gesture which Merlin was at a loss to interpret. So Merlin turned to whisper to Morgause.

“Where are the supply officers Tristan and Isolde? I need some gold, quick!” he said. Without a word, Morgause turned and dashed out the doors. Seconds later she was back with the other two in tow. That was quite odd and unexpected, but Merlin was in a hurry to deal with the troublemaker. Isolde approached and handed Merlin a small bag. He opened it and reached in to pull out a handful of coins.

“ _Real_ gold, probably better than anything the creature has stolen,” Isolde told him. Merlin turned with his palm open.

“Hey, stupid gremlin,” Merlin called out. The thing stopped to stare at him angrily. The others all stared at him, too, relying on him to convey what was happening. In the background, Monmouth was asking to speak to the dean, but he turned one baleful eye to Merlin. Merlin’s face was flushed from being the center of attention, but he stood his ground as the creature leapt towards him.

“I am a GOBLIN,” it snarled indignantly. Then it sniffed the air, and suddenly focussed on what Merlin was holding. A look of avarice overtook its face, and it licked its lips in a disgusting manner.  It darted forward to make a grab for the gold. Merlin dodged back and circled round closer to the filing cabinet.

“Goblin, then," Merlin amended. "You want this? It’s _gold_ , and it’s all yours. Here, I’ll even put it in your safety deposit box.” Merlin bent down and reached in to drop the gold at the back of the drawer. Without hesitation, the goblin dove inside after the gold, a look of sheer bliss on its face. Merlin slammed the drawer shut. A muffled thumping and bumping came from the cabinet, but the drawer remained closed.

“Just don’t let him out,” Merlin said to the astounded crew around him. “Nothing he can do in there.  And apparently he's a _goblin_ , not a gremlin.” Even Arthur looked incredulous that the creature would be out of commission. They all looked at the file cabinet, which seemed eerily normal, oddly quiet.  The goblin they couldn't even see was no longer a threat?  Then they jumped collectively as Monmouth dropped the telephone receiver back onto the cradle with a loud thunk. The librarian sniffed haughtily.

“If you people are here to use the facilities,” he said, “please get about your business. I am not in the habit of hosting parties in my library.” Gwen and Morgana looked at each other in amazement. “And you two are here to work, I presume?” he continued. “Let’s get you started, shall we?” It seemed that whatever hold the creature had on him was terminated the moment it was incapacitated, or in this case, incarcerated.

“Excuse me, sir,” Morgause tapped Geoffrey lightly on the shoulder, who was in the process of digging out a couple of name tags for the girls. “My colleagues and I are here to remove this filing cabinet to place in storage. With your permission, naturally.”

Geoffrey looked at the cabinet in question. “I do not recall this being here.  Where did it come from? I have no need of such an archaic piece of furniture; my files are all digital. Yes, please, you may take it away.”  He waved his hand dismissively.

Morgause nodded. Between her and Tristan and Isolde, the filing cabinet was carried out of the library.  The group watched them go, exchanging incredulous looks with one another.  When Morgause stepped back in just a minute later, she brushed her hands with finality.

“Those two will store that file somewhere no one will ever get at it again,” she said.  No one dared question Morgause.  She continued, turning to Merlin. “Excellent work, Emrys. If there is anything else you require, let us know.” And she was off and away again.

“Did you notice,” said Elena as they left the library, “that Monmouth is just as gruff when not under goblin-fluence?” She chortled at her own joke.

They glanced back at the library, relieved that this job was finished. Mithian pointed at the roof, where some precariously balanced horse-statues looked down on them. Merlin saw them, and felt more strongly than ever that they were somehow helping him to come up with solutions to these monster-attacks. It was curiously calming having them watch over him. He laughed, and happily let Arthur lead him by the hand as they headed out to the sports field for tryouts, and the next great challenge.


	9. The Serpents

Arthur and his cohorts arrived for tryouts at the sports field. Merlin was delightedly ogling Arthur's legs in his football kit. The boys had changed, on the off-chance this wouldn't be a supernatural event. Football was serious business, either way. Nevertheless, they arrived nearly an hour early specifically to avoid any entanglements with other students should they have to face down three vicious snakes. Valiant was standing there, looking like he was expecting them anyway. His eyes were blazing, all but penetrating their skulls.

“Line up here against this wall,” he snapped out. Um, no. They stood their ground. All eyes were drawn over and over again to the school crest on the wall, where the snakes appeared to wriggle and squiggle like some surrealistic artwork.

“I thought the crest was supposed to be a shield and sword,” Lance offered up.

"Girls, best wait over there,” Elyan suggested. Mithian pouted, Elena downright scowled, but Gwen and Morgana backed off to a relatively safe distance. They’d had enough ‘fun’ for today.

“IF you wish to join our elite team of Knights, you will need to show your courage, fortitude, and stamina,” Valiant was elucidating as he paced aggressively before them. “Present yourselves one at a time, and I will decide who is competent and qualified to try out for football. Starting with YOU.” He pointed to Arthur. Merlin grabbed his arm to hold him back, but Arthur was no coward, and stepped forward with jaw set in determination.

“What do you want of me? We know you aren’t really here for football,” Arthur challenged brazenly.

“Your father has destroyed,” Coach Valiant growled furiously, right up in Arthur's face. “We take vengeance. You will be destroyed in turn." His voice rang out suddenly, as he shot a look at the crest on the wall. "ATTACK!”

The shout elicited a change in the crest. The snakes had disappeared. Arthur cast his eyes around, backing off quickly. The others surged backwards as well.

“There, OH, there!” Merlin pointed this way and that, shouting. "Watch it!"

Another moment he was pointing at the ground near Elyan, who jumped back. Then he windmilled frantically to indicate two shifting targets near Arthur. “Hit them with something! Help, Help!”

Instantly standing beside them were Tristan and Isolde. They proffered a variety of sports equipment with which the kids could defend themselves. Leon and Gwaine grabbed bats. Lance a golf club. Arthur began chopping away randomly with the hockey stick Tristan had tossed him. Elena and Mithian got a pair of mallets, and even Merlin got in on the act with a tennis racket, although his reach was somewhat less than ideal. He scooped a snake back from Elyan. Gwaine inferred its location from the move and bludgeoned the ground repeatedly.

“YES!” shouted Merlin, throwing his hands up in victory. “One down.” Elyan took hold of a lacrosse stick and joined the fray. Merlin continued to point and dodge, while the others swung madly about, chunks of grass flying up as they flailed. Tristan swung a rapier about, which was not much use, and Isolde was left holding a bow, which thank goodness she did not use for shooting arrows, but instead poked in futility at the ground a good five yards away from everyone else.

Elena got Leon hard in the shin with her mallet, sending him hopping uselessly away. Elyan managed to catch the end of Lance’s club in his net, effectively hobbling his efforts. Then Gwaine got a lucky shot in with his bat and knocked the head of one snake sideways. Merlin was able to point it out quickly and Mithian and Gwaine finished it off, mashing the ground well after Merlin indicated the invisible serpent was dead.

"Ha ha! That's two for me!" Gwaine whooped.

“Quick, I think one’s here!” Arthur yelled urgently, and they swung around to help thwack all about in front of him. Merlin was out of breath, but shoved in to poke and stab at the darting snake with rather better accuracy. Arthur watched Merlin's movements briefly. Then he heaved up his hockey stick, cleaved the air with it and brought it down directly across the neck of the serpent, severing its head.

“You did it!” Merlin gasped. He was nearly faint with relief, feeling proud of his boyfriend and all his mates, even of Gwen and Morgana who had retreated to the relative safety of the third level bleacher seats and had stayed out of the way. Dropping their weapons, they all stepped back from the battle field. When they turned to look at the school crest once more, it was indeed now a sword and shield.

Valiant, of course, was back to his normal old self. Which was to say, he started shouting about the mess they had made of his field, that they’d better put that equipment away, and that they were early for tryouts, it wasn’t time yet. He stomped off and entered the sports building.

Merlin grinned at Arthur, Lance and Gwen hugged, Leon and Elyan helped Morgana down off the benches, and Elena and Mithian were high-fiving one another.

“I think maybe,” Arthur began, sounding odd. “Maybe I better sit down.” Merlin paled. The revelry stopped. Arthur staggered, and sunk to his knees.

“What? No!” Merlin said in despair. Not his Arthur. Not when they were doing so well. He flung himself down, plucking at Arthur’s arm, patting at his wan cheek, trying to believe that everything was okay. Arthur’s head lolled, and he started to topple over.

“C’mon boys, let’s get him some help. Let’s go, let’s go!” Leon ordered. Morgana looked to Tristan and Isolde, but they shook their heads.

“We’re supply officers, we have no medical knowledge. You’re on your own.” And the two of them left again, no one could see where they disappeared to.

“Did he get bit? I don’t see anything,” Gwen said anxiously wringing her hands. Lance shook his head.

“We wouldn’t be able to,” he said. “It’s a magical bite. Can you see it, Merlin?” Merlin nodded, eyes wide and terrified. He indicated Arthur’s leg. Looking, all that the others could see was a small mark like a bug bite.

“Help me lift him,” Leon continued, “If we can get him to someone...” They tried to each take a limb, but they were upset and not working well together.

“Allow me,” another voice pitched in. They looked around. It was Percival. “Is he injured? I didn’t know I was late for tryouts. Did he hit his head, or something?”

“Yah,” said Gwaine. “Something. Look, can you carry him?” Percival nodded, and easily scooped Arthur up and over his shoulders in a fireman’s hold. It was as if Arthur were a straw dummy. Merlin was hanging on to Arthur’s sleeve frantically, and trying to avoid being stepped on by the large man carrying him.

“Where shall we take him? Who?” Merlin asked, hopelessness breaking in his voice.

“Gaius,” said Elyan suddenly. “Remember he helped when our father was sick and no one knew what to do? He said it wasn’t a _natural_ illness. I think he meant it was supernatural.”

“Okay then, let’s go,” agreed Leon. Gaius was a skilled physician, and a trusted friend. He was the obvious choice. Gwaine gestured for Percival to follow him and headed out, leading the way.


	10. Snake-Bite Part II

Gaius lived on campus in one of the staffing houses. The residences were secluded from the university grounds behind a copse of densely mixed trees. In actuality the homes were quite close. If you turned abruptly to the left on the walk from the new Sports Complex to the STU, a shaded and convoluted path cut through the thicket and opened up basically on Gaius’s doorstep.

It was here Gwaine led Percy with his burden, all their anxious friends following on behind. Gaius was usually at home when not teaching, choosing to use a room in his house for an office/medical practice. The bell over the door jangled as they entered the small waiting room.

“What can I help you with?” Gaius began, entering from the hallway opposite the door. His brow rose high as he took in the sheer number of youth crowding their way into the narrow space. He tilted his head to regard the blond slung over the shoulders of one very tall lad. “Arthur? Are you injured?” Arthur of course did not respond.

Gaius pointed quickly to the examining room doorway off to the left, and Percy eased though (sideways and ducking) to lay Arthur down on the exam table. Merlin, still glued to his side, squeezed himself in alongside his prone boyfriend while Gaius immediately began to check him over.

“You! What happened?” Gaius snapped out at Merlin.

“He’s got a...he’s got a BITE,” Merlin stammered out amidst the cacophony of voices chiming in from the doorway. Gaius looked round impatiently.

“Clear out!” he bellowed. Percy’s eyes widened in alarm, and he made a beeline for the door, parting the crowd. The others turned to follow. “Leon, not you,” Gaius called, arbitrarily considering him the most level-headed of the group. Leon stepped in next to Merlin who was NOT leaving Arthur.

“There were some magical invisible snakes and one bit Arthur. Merlin here,” Leon nodded with his head, “is able to see them, and we killed them all. But Arthur got bitten on the leg.” Gaius peered at Merlin dubiously, then pursed his lips.

“Low respiratory rate, elevated heart rate and body temp is consistent with a poisonous snake bite,” he muttered. “Where is the bite? Describe it to me.” Merlin pointed at the little red mark on Arthur’s leg.

“It’s very swollen and white in the center, with red streaks going out from it here and here,” Merlin told him.

“And what kind of snakes were these?” Gaius asked, prodding the skin around where Merlin had indicated.

“I don’t know. Um, big? And they were shiny green, with yellowish hoods and red eyes. About four feet long, I think.” Merlin was stroking Arthur’s arm up and down frantically. “Is he going to be okay?”

Gaius eyed Merlin’s caresses and straightened up to address him more directly. “And how is it that you can see these things? Magical things?”

“Merlin is able to do magic,” Leon said. “He...we all actually, have been fighting off magical monsters for the last couple of days. They seem to have some rather strong hostility toward Pendragon Corporation. Merlin sees them, and we all help destroy them with Merlin’s guidance.”

“How are you able to defeat them?” Gaius questioned Merlin. “Who has been teaching you this?”

Merlin shook his head. “No one. I just think of how it should be done, and somehow it works.” Gaius seemed to consider this for a few moments, then nodded.

“I have some small knowledge of supernatural phenomena,” Gaius told them. “If what you say is accurate, how do you wish to proceed? Arthur needs immediate treatment.”

After chewing anxiously on his lip, Merlin inquired, “How do you usually treat snakebites? Poisonous ones? Anti-venin, right? Snake-specific anti-venin?” Gaius quirked an eyebrow, and Merlin continued his thought. “I don’t know about that stuff, but...didn’t people used to suck out the poison?” He grimaced at his own suggestion.

“Then I would recommend you do that. Now!” Gauis urged. Merlin was taken aback, and shot a look at Leon. He hadn’t meant for _himself_ to do it. Wasn’t Gaius the doctor? But now those eyebrows were working again, and Merlin was ‘inspired’ to take the plunge.

“Right,” he said, taking a shuddering breath. “What do I do?” He stared dubiously down at the frightful-looking wound.

“Just suck really hard over the punctures,” Gaius instructed. “Then spit, here.” He proffered an emesis basin which he grabbed off a shelf behind him. Merlin drew another breath and let it out, leaning in and pressing his open mouth to Arthur's leg. Leon watched with a sickly expression, fascination warring with nausea. Merlin gave a hard draw on Arthur’s leg, a bitter taste surging into his mouth. He pulled back and spat and hacked into the bowl.

“Again!” insisted Gaius. So Merlin did it again. Desperately, tears making tracks down his cheeks.

And he did it a third time. It felt like he was siphoning petrol, like he was trying to take a breath through a straw. He spat again, and resisted closing his mouth. He brushed his damp cheeks with his hands, tongue still hanging out.

“Ugh!” Merlin gasped, and wiped his tongue on his sleeve. Gaius hurried to fill a cup with water and handed it to him, whilst Leon bent over Arthur, hoping for a change. Merlin sloshed out his mouth, barely taking an eye off Arthur.

“When will he get better?” Merlin demanded to know, breathing hard. “Arthur! Wake up!” He shook and jostled Arthur by the arm and shoulder. Gaius smacked Arthur’s cheek with the flat of his hand. A low groan came from deep in Arthur’s throat, and then his head began to roll from side to side. Merlin choked out a sobbing laugh, and Leon blew out the breath he’d been holding.

“Ooooow!” Arthur grumbled. “Wazzup?” He blinked, staring blearily at the ceiling for a moment, then dazedly located Merlin. “Hey,” he said, still trying to focus. “Are we there yet?” Colour started returning to his cheeks, and he raised himself up on his elbows. Merlin let his forehead drop to Arthur’s shoulder in relief. Leon gave Merlin a clap on the back, gave Arthur’s arm a squeeze, and headed out to inform the others.

Gaius took Arthur’s stats, and shook his head incredulously. Something big was going on, and whatever it was shouldn’t be left to the oversight of a bunch of green university students. Merlin was now stroking Arthur's forehead and tenderly kissing his face, and Arthur was quietly speaking reassuring words back to the other boy and petting his hair, so Gaius slipped out of the room to phone his old friend Uther. Magical monsters, deadly poisons, something to do with the Pendragon Corporation, Arthur’s life being endangered; these kids needed to come clean right now, and let proper adults handle things.

“Hello, Uther?” he said momentarily. “It’s Gaius. You’re going to want to come down here.” Gaius turned his head upon glimpsing a movement out of the corner of his eye. His wife’s stupid grey cat had poked its head out of its cat house when he spoke. As he raised a brow at it, the cat stared unblinkingly and sourly back at him.


	11. Manticore

“You need to tell Uther what’s happening,” said Gaius, re-entering the room where Arthur was now swinging his legs off the side of the table, and the other kids had once again pushed their way into the house. “Whatever is going on, he needs to know when it’s his people in jeopardy. When it’s his son’s life in danger.”

Merlin squawked suddenly, and scrambled backwards, pointing in alarm behind Gaius in the doorway.

“Monster! Monster!” he gasped out. There arched a grey cat, hissing and spitting. Gaius shoved it back with his foot and closed the door.

“Just my wife’s new cat,” Gaius said reassuringly. “Showed up on the doorstep in a little cat house – a wooden box with carpeting inside and jewels on the outside, strangest thing. Don’t know who left it there. Not my idea.” Gaius shrugged, and geared up to return to his rant about irresponsible youth. His audience had other ideas.

"Gaius, wait..." started Elyan.

"If we could only see it properly..." added Lance.

“Merlin says it’s a monster, so...?” Gwaine pitched in.

“Who could it be after? Do you work for Pendragon?” Mithian asked Gaius.

“No, he doesn’t,” Arthur interrupted before Gaius could answer. “Obviously it wants to kill someone associated with Father's company, but who?” Gaius looked back and forth trying to follow the conversation, face scrunched up in consternation. He decided to redirect the focus.

“Uther is coming over," Gaius said. "I just phoned him. So, as I was saying...”

“WHAT?”

“Oh, no!”

“You’ve got to stop him.”

“He can’t!”

“Kill it! Merlin, how do we kill it? What IS it anyway?” Arthur broke in at last.

“It looks like...well, it has a human face, but like really ugly,” Merlin started. “And an animal body, with purplish grey skin. Or I guess it’s like fur. Tail, though, like a scorpion tail.”

“Well that’s unhelpful...” began Arthur.

“A manticore?” Gaius cut in. “Are you certain?” Merlin nodded. He had described it the way he saw it.

“So what do we do?” pressed Leon. They all looked to Merlin. Gaius, who was about to offer suggestions, hesitated and found himself waiting for Merlin to speak as well.

“Take it to the vet and have it neutralized?” Merlin began. “Um, neutered?” A stunned silence, then Gwaine broke out into an exuberant cheer. Everybody chuckled, and with a relieved huff, Arthur turned to look at Gaius questioningly.

“Right,” Gaius shook himself. “Good. I hate that cat. I knew there had to be a reason.” He shouldered past them to a large supply cupboard and retrieved a cat-carrier that his wife had thoughtfully purchased a couple days ago. He opened the door again, where they could all see the manticore-cat pacing heavily back and forth. Grabbing it by the scruff of the neck, Gaius shoved it unceremoniously into the carrier and secured the latches.

“Wow. Gaius. That was...brave,” said Morgana, her green eyes wide. The others nodded in agreement, mumbling a mixture of disbelief and admiration. Gaius calmly strode out the door, down the steps and headed over to his old beat-up car. 

“You can all explain things to Uther, and I will be right back. If my wife shows up, tell her I’ve gone to the vet’s to get the cat fixed.” Everyone trailed out the door after him, and watched him drive off. When they looked to Merlin, he had a satisfied smirk on his face, so they knew that somehow this had been the solution.

“Great,” said Arthur. “So what are we going to tell my father?” Everyone thought about the events of the past few days. All the lives in danger, all the monsters they had fought, all the supernatural events surrounding them at Albion, Merlin’s magic. Merlin, perhaps, was most nervous about facing the wrath of his formerly-heterosexual boyfriend’s father.

Gwen bit her lip anxiously. “Even worse, what are we going to tell Alice?”


	12. How Do You Stop a Troll?

Uther arrived, and Gaius was not there to greet him. But a rowdy group of young people were. He looked over the crowded room; some kids he knew and some he didn’t. His eyes came to an abrupt halt when they met those of his son Arthur. Who had an anxious but determined look on his face, and an arm securely wrapped around the waist of the boy next to him. A lanky boy, with dark hair and daring ears. He looked back and forth between the two boys, then Uther stared pointedly at the non-existent space between them.

“Arthur. I am disappointed in you. I raised you better than this.” Uther’s words were harsh, and Arthur gulped, clinging more tightly to Merlin. For which Merlin was glad, as he was about ready to sink into the floor.

“Father, please...” Arthur tried desperately to come up with an inspiring speech promoting acceptance, reconciliation, tolerance, anything. Nothing.

“No!” Uther barked. “I am not accustomed to being kept in the dark. If you have found yourself a boyfriend, you should have told me. I’m glad Gaius had the sense to ask me to come over here. Now, introduce me properly to your young man.” Well, wait, was that a pin dropping?

Once Arthur recovered from the devastating shock that his father wasn’t homophobic, he remembered to breathe again, and dragged Merlin forward to meet his austere parent.

*****

Sadly (?) the cat never made it to the vet. A manticore cannot live for long periods of time outside its own dimension, and the portal (its 'cat house') was left behind at Gaius's. Oh, well. Que sera sera. Gaius said a little prayer. Not for the cat, but for himself when his wife should hear of this.

Gaius returned back home sooner than he had expected, having left the deceased feline/monster for the veterinarian to dispose of. He found the kids in the midst of some grandiose tales, dramatically re-enacted by Elena, Gwen, and Morgana, with sound-effects by Gwaine, and narration by Leon. Elyan, Mithian, and Lance were heckling from the sidelines. Uther was perched uncomfortably on the edge of the examining table next to Arthur and Merlin, a bemused look on his face as he indulged their fantasies.

“And the troll has taken over the appearance of one of the staff at Albion University,” Leon said, nearing the conclusion of his tale. “Um, it’s, well, you see...” he faltered.

“It’s Catrina, father,” Arthur told him. “She’s going to have unlimited access to Pendragon Corp. and its personnel after she marries you.” A dire thought hit him, and he added, “If anything happens to you after that, she’ll OWN the company.”

“I think it has something to do with the building of the new sports complex,” Morgana told him.

“I think it’s more about the destruction of the Darkling Woods,” Merlin suddenly spoke up. “Didn’t you say they cut down the woods to make the fields and the buildings? Maybe the magical creatures lived there, and got really mad about their woods being demolished.”

“Nonsense,” Uther said. He turned to look at his son. "Arthur, you knew that Catrina was opposed to the clearing of the Darkling Woods. She’s an environmentalist, always was harping on me to make the company go green. I've recently introduced new policies, and we are continuing to improve. Catrina is already having her way with the company.”

“But that’s too late for the Darkling Woods,” said Arthur. “There’s no way to restore what’s been destroyed. They just want revenge.”

“It was Catrina who insisted on the name ‘D K Woods Memorial Sports Complex’,” Uther told them. “She was satisfied with that little homage, so just keep your nonsense to yourselves.” Arthur turned a beseeching look on Gaius, and soon the others did the same. Help us, be on our side, explain things so he'll understand, they seemed to convey in their expressions. Gaius shrugged.

"The cat died," he said, apropos of nothing, as far as Uther could tell. The gang of young people understood their victory in that quarter, but didn't react as joyfully as they might have earlier. Really, Gaius was not being much help right NOW. He had nothing. The kids shifted about restlessly, frustrated.

Presently Gaius and Uther retreated to the inner rooms of the house. The gang was left contemplating their options. Certainly, something had to be done. Gaius believed them, but there was no way on earth Uther would ever come on board.

*****

The kids were discussing how to kill the troll without killing Catrina, who was an old acquaintance. This was more complex than any of the other situations had been.

“How do you keep a troll from....trolling?” Merlin asked the room in general.

“Break their computer,” came a serious voice from the doorway. Everyone jumped. Percival stood there, arms folded across his massive chest. Nobody had remembered that there was an outside witness. Percival had taken in everything that was said, but amazingly (for one so large) went unnoticed himself. Merlin and Arthur exchanged alarmed looks. Gwaine, the only one not immobilized, went over to pull his friend into the center of the room.

“But you can’t just expect that to stop a troll, don’t be silly,” commented Morgana. “This is reality we’re talking about here.” Everyone gave her dumbass looks.

“REALITY? I think we’ve gone way past reality, and we're on the outskirts of Avalon by now,” snickered Elena. The others nodded.

Arthur regarded Percival dubiously, and asked, “Whose side are you on? Because MERLIN thinks you’re a giant, and while we all concede that you are very tall and muscular, the rest of us think you’re still just normal. So? With us or against us?”

Percival began his explanation. Emrys had been ‘called in’ by the SWWAT team, granted a scholarship, and shepherded into contact with Arthur. He had been assigned to Block M after the dorocha had infiltrated it, so that his sleeping arrangements would be elsewhere (conveniently with Arthur); and his meal card info was deleted from his documents, so he really didn’t know it had to be purchased separately (again, conveniently ‘assisting’ him to be close to Arthur).

“But how did you know the two of us would get on?” Merlin asked. “I mean, why the two of us in particular?”

“Your magic, Merlin,” Arthur hissed under his breath, digging his elbow into Merlin’s side. Merlin jumped, and poked him back.

“Well, yes, there is that,” said Percival, eying their little tussle. “But the two of you are well-known throughout history to function best together.” Merlin and Arthur looked shocked, profoundly affected by this confirmation of their combined pasts. The others looked confused, not having been privy to this part of the story.

“We don’t really remember all that very clearly,” Merlin told Percival. “Mostly just impressions, images, you know?”

"What does history have anything to do with this? Huh?" said Lance, face scrunched up as if he could almost but not quite understand the truth.

“Wait,” Morgana broke in. “How do YOU know about all this, anyway?” Everyone turned their attention to Percival, curious and cautious. Except for Gwaine, who was visibly delighted. About time his 'girlfriend' got some attention!

“Actually, I’m also with the SWWAT team. Morgause is our director, Kilgarrah is our seer, Tristan and Isolde weapons and supply, and Edwin Muirden is appropriations operative. I’m student infiltration liaison.” Everyone breathed out a relieved whoosh. Percival was ‘with’ them. Merlin, however, still had one doubt.

“But Professor Kilgarrah is a dragon!” he protested. “Why wouldn’t he be allied with all the other monsters?”

“I trust him, but then I’ve been working with him quite a while now,” Percival told him. “Still, you are the EMRYS, and we are relying on you to see through disguises and uncover the mastermind behind this plot. I do not believe that the troll is the last enemy. Could it be Kilgarrah? Personally, I disagree. I only see Kilgarrah as a man anyway because he has engaged his thrall. Emrys has the power to see past the disguises and identify the magical creatures beneath, and to release their familiars from their control. If you have decided Kilgarrah is our enemy, we will do whatever you instruct.”

“So once the monsters have been incapacitated they can’t harm anyone anymore?” asked Lance curiously.

“Specifically, once Emrys has perceived of an action that will work against them, they are defeated. The Dorocha were ‘electrical’ in their manifestation, so they needed to be switched off. The Afanc was elemental, made of water and clay, so air and fire destroyed him. Snakes, you cut off their heads, simple. Goblins cannot escape a closed container. The manticore manifested as a cat, and his trip to the vet was not his undoing, but his forced separation from his intra-dimensional portal was. He could not live in our dimension for long periods of time. Merlin’s magic is perceptual, and thus in today’s terms, you stop a troll by breaking their computer. The simplest, most direct route between two points.”

“I’ll buy that,” said Merlin, barely needing to consider it. It came as no surprise that Percival knew about their adventures so far, if he was part of the task force. Morgause had probably been filling him in all along.

“See? That’s all it takes for someone of his great power,” concluded Percival, large hands outspread in a 'duh' gesture.

“Aw-right! Let’s go break Professor Catrina’s computer!” cheered Gwaine, ever gung-ho. Elena snickered uncontrollably, even when Mithian gave her a ‘get-a-grip’ look.

“You are going to get into SO much trouble,” Elena giggled helplessly.

“What are we going to do about Kilgarrah?” Arthur maintained. “I mean, you and the others on the SWWAT team are normal humans, but he is a monster. A dragon.”

“Ahem, well,” Percival started to say, coughing a little into his fist. “Actually, SWWAT stands for Strategic Witches and Warlocks Assault Team. Morgause and Dr Muirden are sorcerers. Tristan and Isolde are space/time-travellers, which is how they transport their weapons and supplies. And I, um,” he looked apologetically at Gwaine in particular, “I’m actually a giant.” There were many blank, astounded looks in the room, from Merlin as well, even though he had always been certain the large man the others said THEY saw was not as large as the one HE saw.

Gwaine, however, went and gave Percy a big man-hug.

“You awesome dog, you!” Gwaine said.


	13. Oh No!

First they swung by the athletic field and approached Coach Valiant with trepidation. It seemed Valiant was desperately glad to see them because barely anyone else who had shown up for tryouts was any good, and besides he had been drooling over Arthur’s high school athletic records. One look at Percival, Gwaine, Leon, Elyan, and Lance, and they were in, too. Poor Merlin, by association, nearly got himself signed up. He did manage to downgrade that to securing a spot with the team as Coach's assistant (particularly for running warm-ups). He and Arthur were delighted with that, as it meant Merlin could travel with the team to away games.

Secondly, they went out for a rather late evening meal, opting for a ribs place in town. Feeling rather celebratory even though the last monster on their hit-list hadn't been dealt with yet, they opted to select various drinks for one another they had never tried before. Merlin wound up with a Singapore Sling courtesy of Gwaine, and was teased mercilessly for it. He retaliated by ordering a Pina Colada for Gwaine. Arthur looked dubiously at the olive in his Martini thanks to his sister, and Morgana got a Bloody Mary in return. Lance had Sangria and Gwen a Mojito. Percy a Screwdriver, and Elena Tequila Sunrise. Mithian ordered Long Island Ice Tea for Elyan, who returned the favour with Ouzo, much to her disgust. She traded with Elena. Who then ordered a cooler, just because “yuck”, to get the taste out of her mouth. Gwaine drank the rest of it anyway. Leon ordered himself a pint and watched them all, shaking his head at their nonsense.

It was no contest who was going to do the night's dirty deed. Stealth, dubious ethics, and a love for smashing things. Gwaine and Elena broke into Catrina’s office with ease (something in their not-so-pristine backgrounds working in their favour), and smashed her computer (with glee), whilst Elyan texted their progress from outside the scene of the crime back to Arthur and Merlin and the others, who were lounged all over Arthur’s flat watching Age of Ultron, freshly shipped in from China.

“They’re on their way back,” reported Percy. Arthur lifted his head off Merlin’s tummy, dislodging the hand that had been carding through his hair.

“Excellent!” Arthur declared. “Do you suppose Father will still marry her?” he asked, turning to Morgana.

Morgana pouted in thought. “I guess it will be up to her. If her personality changes, or she was only marrying him because of the control the monster had over her...” Merlin giggled, and Morgana and Arthur stared at him questioningly.

“You said ‘control’, get it?” Merlin snickered. “Con-TROLL!” Arthur rolled his eyes, while Morgana shook her head. Arthur pounced on his boyfriend, and the two of them tumbled off the sofa onto the floor with a thump. Morgana exchanged a look with Leon, who’s lap she was currently occupying.

“Well, that’s enough for me,” said Mithian, staggering up to stand from where she’d been cross-legged on the rug, wolfing down a last few handfuls of popcorn. “I have classes in the morning. You know, Uni and all that?”

“Us, too,” Gwen sighed, untangling herself from Lance, who had shyly allowed her to entwine their arms and legs so they could both fit in the one easy chair. “We ALL do,” she scolded the boys rolling on the floor.

“But the movie’s not over,” wailed Merlin, limbs flailing as he tried unsuccessfully to buck off the blond sitting astride his midriff.

“Naw, mate, I don’t think Arthur’s interested in the movie anymore,” said Leon, allowing Morgana to pull him to his feet after her. Arthur grinned menacingly at Merlin, who had the grace to bite his lips and turn beet red.

Percy texted Elyan again. “I’ve just told them to head on back to their own rooms,” he said, following Mithian to the door. “We’ll get together in the morning to go over whatever loose ends there are to tie up. I think we got all the monsters, though.”

“Yeah,” grunted out Merlin, as Arthur finally let him up. “And I’ll talk to the unicorns and find out if there are any more. They’re bound to know if Kilgarrah's a threat. I’d hate for a dragon attack on Albion, you know, fire and chaos, after all we’ve been through. If he has been playing us all along...”

“Let’s hope for a quiet night, at least. See you all in the morning, then,” said Percy. Lance waited patiently while Gwen tied her loafers, and they headed out the door. Morgana and Leon followed swiftly, Leon pulling the door tight shut behind them. Good enough, they were exhausted!

Arthur clicked off the DVD system, and turned to find Merlin watching him with a smirk. His own grin broke out. “Ready for bed?” he asked flirtatiously.

“You lock the door, I’ll get the lights,” Merlin intoned with a poorly concealed surge of male hormones. Scarcely ten seconds later, Arthur was looping his arms around Merlin’s neck, nosing his way along his jaw to mouth at Merlin’s earlobe.

“You’re my HERO,” Arthur whispered hotly into his ear. “You saved my life today.” He kissed his way back to Merlin’s mouth, which was open as Merlin panted heavily. He rightly took that as an invitation, and soon their tongues were dueling. Merlin’s fingers gripped Arthur’s rear belt loops, and pulled him closer, moulding their bodies together perfectly.

“Mmmm,” Merlin hummed. “I recommend bed rest for the recuperating patient.” He began a crabwalk sideways towards the bedroom, hauling his lover with him.

“Idiot,” Arthur replied. “You’d better keep an eye on me, then,” he suggested.

“Believe me, I’ll be keeping more than an eye on you,” Merlin retaliated as he began to peel Arthur out of his clothes, tossing them willy nilly.

“What does that even mean?” Arthur chortled, returning the favour.

Merlin grinned, and loosed a little of his magic as he pushed Arthur down onto the bed and straddled him. "Watch me," he said.

*****

They were unexpectedly clear-headed and energetic in the morning, all showered and clean-shaven and dressed for Uni success as they made their way hand-in-hand across to the cafeteria on campus. 

"I promised Gaius to stop in for a brief check-up before breakfast," Arthur told Merlin, veering off course. Merlin pulled back, stopping.

"Wait, while you go there, I'll just go talk to the unicorns, they're on the path up ahead." He nodded at the horses, with their ever-present guardian, standing alongside the copse.

"Okay, be right back, wait for me," Arthur said, smooshing a sloppy kiss on Merlin's cheek. Merlin merely shot him a sweet smile, before making a bee-line for the beautiful mythical creatures only he could truly see. Arthur shook his head with an indulgent smile for the giddy boy, and picked his way through the trees to Gaius's house.

Arthur entered the cafeteria ten minutes later, a clean bill of health, and joined the rest of his friends at breakfast.

"Where's Merlin?" he asked, sitting down with his cereal bowl and OJ. "He was supposed to wait for me outside." The others shook their heads.

"He hasn't come in here," Leon told him. "Not that I've seen."

"Maybe he found out something," Arthur speculated. "He was talking to the unicorns. God, I hope he hasn't gone to confront Kilgarrah by himself!" He stood up anxiously, and the others stared at him in concern.

"What? No!" said Mithian.

"C'mon, c'mon, what are you all waiting for, let's go!" urged Gwaine. Everyone got up and, deserting their food, surged out the door.

"Where'd you see him last?" asked Percival. Arthur pointed down the path. Nobody was there. The unicorns were missing, too.

"What's happening?" spoke a voice behind them. They turned and saw Morgause.

"It's Merlin," began Arthur in a panic. "We think he's gone to fight Kilgarrah."

"Kilgarrah? But he's our strongest ally. You better start from the beginning," Morgause spoke authoritatively, trying to calm Arthur down as he paced around frantically.

"He was going to ask the unicorns what we should do about Kilgarrah..." Arthur started.

"UNICORNS?" Morgause said, shocked. "There are unicorns here?" The group all nodded, as one. "Unicorns are spell-binders, and the only magical creatures naturally occurring on earth. If they were displaced when the woods were destroyed, they'll stop at nothing to exact their revenge! Someone pure of heart would have to go to them willingly. No, no, no, no, this is so bad."

Arthur's face was white. "Merlin," he whispered desperately.


	14. Saving Merlin

The clouds, the drizzle, the dark day mirrored Arthur’s thoughts and emotions. He couldn’t think, didn’t know what to do.

Arthur’s face was a vision of abject misery. Merlin was gone, taken by the most horrific monsters of all. The unicorns. Arthur didn’t know where to find him, where to begin looking. Leon gripped his shoulder firmly in support, but he felt no comfort.

The best idea they had came from Morgana. “Why don’t we try the maintenance buildings?” Looking briefly at one another, they took off as one, Morgana and Leon in the lead.

And they were there. Three of them. Looking for all the world like innocent plastic lawn decor. Or, you know, devious and malicious and murderous unicorns. 

“I say we get a couple of baseball bats and smash the stupid things to bits!” said Gwaine. Elena nodded, and she and Mithian looked expectantly around. They weren’t disappointed, for Tristan and Isolde appeared. They strode forward to address Arthur, proffering a beautiful, formidable weapon.

“This is Excalibur, your sword. We are merely returning it to you. Do with it as you will.”

But Arthur sat wearily down, face falling into his hands.

“What will happen?” he choked out. “I mean, if I kill them, what happens to Merlin? Where even is he?”

“Maybe he’s in one of the sheds?” Gwen said hopefully. “If we get rid of the unicorns, maybe the maintenance man will let us search them?”

“Let’s go over what we know so far,” Lance suggested. “Maybe we’re missing something.”

“Right, then,” began Morgana. “The unicorns were so pissed at having their woods chopped down, they engaged the groundskeeper Anhora and infiltrated the university campus.”

“They summoned various deadly monsters from beyond this dimension to act as assassins,” suggested Morgause. “Each with a different assignment. And maybe they didn’t want the creatures killing indiscriminately, so they designated human counterparts to protect innocent bystanders and help the beasts along.”

“So the unicorns had a human who was also compromised, the groundskeeper Anhora,” continued Elyan. “When their woods had been destroyed, he was forced to help them exact their revenge upon the Pendragon Corporation and anyone associated with it. If they were on campus. Workers. Or their kids.”

“Us,” added Gwen with a gulp. “But we stopped them. They must be pretty mad by now.”

“Then we’ll never find Merlin,” Arthur struggled to speak. “He might not even be in our dimension anymore.”

Arthur got to his feet, and reached to take the sword from Tristan, closing his hand firmly around the grip. He lifted Excalibur high above his head, and a cold, determined look washed over his face. He stepped resolutely towards the horses. Gwaine, Lance and the others surged forward with him.

Abruptly, the groundskeeper appeared before them, causing their little posse to jump back.

“I am Anhora, Keeper of the Unicorns,” declared the dour old man. “I have not been ‘compromised’ as you say. There is nothing you can do to repair the damage that has been done, Emrys will stay with the unicorns as their safe-guard; his life will ensure their continuance.”

“But Merlin did nothing to you!” Arthur spat out, planting his feet and glaring as he waved his sword menacingly in front of him. He was taking a brave stance, attempting to appear intimidating, but inwardly he was shaking to bits. “Why take him?”

“Emrys thwarted my plans for revenge at every turn. I could not act against him directly; it was necessary to separate him from the Once-and-Future-King, the only one who had the power capable of redirecting him. But this morning he came to the unicorns unattended. Now I will destroy you all.”

“But...but, wait!” Arthur thought quickly, urgently. “The company will be in my hands one day. What if I promise to reforest the land and protect the natural habitat for you. Or how about...the old sports fields are standing empty. We could plant new trees and let nature take over the area. Or you could relocate to a new woods, wherever you like. I could create a...a sanctuary for you.” Arthur hoped he came across as sincere; he really didn’t think he could chop down an old man with his deadly sword.

“You WILL do these things BECAUSE I have Emrys in captivity,” boomed forth Anhora’s voice, devoid of all emotion. “I will not release him.”

“Take me instead, then,” Arthur burst out. “My father will restore the woods if you have me. Just let Merlin go.” The air was still, everyone holding their breaths in disbelief. What was Arthur doing? 

“Very well,” sounded that grim voice once again. “It is done.”

Everyone squinted as the sun very suddenly burst through the clouds and blinded them temporarily. They stumbled against each other for a few minutes, trying to shield their eyes and get accustomed to the light. As their exclamations died away, finally able to look around themselves once again, they could see that Anhora and the unicorns were no longer before them. But curled up on the field where the horses had been, lay Merlin, who gasped and rolled over to push himself up off the grass. His friends surged forward in relief to see him.

“What’s happened?” he asked all the anxious, distressed faces surrounding him. Percy opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

“Arthur’s gone,” shrieked Gwen. Morgana and the others swung around, making sure. But there was no sign of him.


	15. Time for Biscuits

Catrina was beyond miffed.

“Uther, I thought we went over this. You promised the reforestation project would go forward on campus. There is no other use for the old sports fields. It was supposed to be all ours.”

“I did indeed, Catrina,” protested Uther. “Why are you so upset?”

“You sent your thugs to smash my computer, didn’t you?” Catrina answered back, eyes narrowing as she stared through to Uther’s soul. “I had all the plans outlined and was prepared to commence work with my new horticulture students on Monday. You cannot simply take this away from us.”

“My dear, I didn’t,” Uther exclaimed. Catrina pursed her lips, considering. “You know I’m trying to bring the company into a greener worldview. And besides, Albion University was just a small side-project because of Arthur and Morgana starting there.”

Uther paused. He could be just as calculating as Catrina, and far more manipulative. “Listen, why don’t I channel some extra funding into your little project? You tell me how much money you need. Then you can play in the muck and mud all you like.” Catrina’s mouth curled up at the corners. Uther sure knew how to sweet-talk her.

*****

Milling around on campus, meanwhile, a group of distraught students were beside themselves what to do, where to go. Merlin was pulling at his hair frantically, and it stood up in black tufts in all directions.

“I thought the unicorns were my friends,” he wailed inconsolably. “They were so nice, and they let me pet them. Arthur! ARTHUR!” his voice rose to a scream.

Gwaine tried to fling a friendly, consoling arm over his shoulders, but Merlin pushed him away.

“No, no, no, don’t you see,” Merlin’s voice broke as he cried out. “It’s all my fault, I trusted them and now Arthur’s g – gone!”

A light, brilliant and blinding, flashed before them. Dazzled, Merlin fell to his knees. Out of the brightness appeared a majestic, larger than life, radiant...Arthur.

“Merlin, Merlin, you came back to me!” It was Arthur, acting for all the world like he'd been here all along, who strode forward to pull Merlin up and into his arms, clutching his love close, and burrowing his nose in Merlin’s neck. Merlin reached up and slid his trembling fingers through Arthur’s hair. He smiled weakly, and let his eyes slip shut as he hung on for dear life.

The others stood stupefied, mouths hanging open with a wtf look about them.

“How did you get away?” Gwen asked Arthur, the first to finally find her tongue.

“It seems the unicorns found me trustworthy. I was willing to sacrifice my life for Merlin’s, so they said I had proved what was in my heart. Once again, whatever that means.” Arthur clutched tightly at Merlin’s shirt as the other boy nonetheless pulled away a bit. “Apparently their powers are far superior to Anhora’s, though they seldom make use of them.”

“Wait, SACRIFICE your life?” Merlin shrieked. “No, absolutely NO sacrificing yourself, you...you utter DOLLOPHEAD.” Arthur just shook his head indulgently. As if he wouldn’t give his life a billion times over for this boy.

“So why, then?” Morgause demanded. “If it wasn’t because the unicorns were upset over their woods. What was Anhora’s problem?”

“The unicorns explained that Anhora felt guilty,” Arthur told them. “Because he was supposed to protect them, safe-guard their existence, their home. He failed when he could not persuade the oversight committee to refurbish and continue using the old gym and sports fields. I guess the word of a groundskeeper doesn’t count for much. Instead they demolished the woods where his precious charges lived.”

“Why did they let it go so far? I mean, if the unicorns weren’t to blame, weren’t the ones out for revenge, why didn’t they stop the groundskeeper?” Elyan queried.

“They do not habitually interfere in ‘our’ world. They seem to not care, one way or another, whether people live or die. But it seems we...Merlin and I...go way back with them.“ Arthur gave Merlin a bemused look, a little cross-eyed and down his nose because of his proximity. “They REEEALLY like you, Merls.”

*****

Arthur suggested to his soon-to-be stepmother that Anhora be asked to help the horticulture class with their term project. Anhora very meekly accepted, and proved to be a humble and submissive worker. He was obviously very much ashamed and repentant for what he had tried to do. Either that, or those unicorns put some supernatural fear into him.

*****

Arthur and Merlin reported the events to their Greek professor. Kilgarrah gave a snort. No wonder he couldn’t forsee what was really going on. Stupid unicorns. You eat one, and you’re a pariah for life.

*****

“Hi Mom, it’s me.” Merlin listened for a bit, Arthur in the background trying and failing to not look a little anxious.

“Oh, no, everything’s fine. Everything’s great, actually. But can I come home this weekend?” Another pause.

“I have a ride, yeah, um...and can my friend stay over? And can you make biscuits?”...

“Uh, well, we’re more than friends. I really like him. Like like.”...

“Yeah, he’s a him.”...

“His name’s Arthur.”


End file.
